Читать книгу The Bravest Hunter - Michael Newell - Страница 3

by Jonathan Rhodes Regional Service Manager at Everi

When I was eighteen, I worked in a tribal casino in Alabama. I noticed each of the Class II gaming machines had computers in them. I was talented with the use of technology so, I instantly put in my application to the company and eventually joined that team. During my time at the casino, I took an interest in MGAM’s product and began thinking more about a career there rather than just having a job.

I worked with the MGAM techs and learned their product, then approached Multimedia Games for a technician position, and as I hoped, it led to my future career.

When MGAM offered the job, I researched the company and especially the founder, Gordon Graves. After seeing Mr. Graves’s portfolio and accomplishments, it was a no-brainer. I took the job. As I write this, I am thirty-six years of age and still with the company Mr. Graves founded and built from the ground up.

As a young man, I was always fascinated by Mr. Graves as it seemed everything he touched turned to gold. He is a brilliant leader and such a compassionate person, a combination I’ve rarely seen in the business world. During the years Mr. Graves was actively leading the company, he always seemed to put the right people in the right job, and so the company kept growing. Later, MGAM sold for more than a billion dollars.

I wish I could have been beside Mr. Graves seven days a week to have soaked up as much knowledge as possible from him. Mr. Graves has touched thousands of lives as a supplier of a superior product that made money for its clients and for the thousands more who Mr. Graves put on a career path. Mr. Graves solidified my future in this industry by starting the company. After all, I was just a teenage boy from a small town in Alabama who did not know what I was going to do with my life.

I often wonder what Mr. Graves thinks about his business ventures. In America today, things are usually about the mighty dollar, but I honestly believe Mr. Graves gets a thrill from creating these jobs and paving the road for many, many people like me.

In the gaming industry, there are so many bumpy roads, red tape, regulations, legal matters and tons more that go into starting a company like Multimedia Games. It just shows the sheer brilliance of Mr. Graves. For him to take an idea and turn it into what he has, takes more than I could ever imagine. In this industry, it’s not “just get a product and go.” There is so much more to it, and it blows my mind how Mr. Graves does things like this.

It is essential to note that Mr. Graves does not merely create minimum-wage jobs; he creates life-changing careers. As I have previously said, he has given me a career that I thank God for every day. I no longer need to check my bank balance or worry about finances. I honestly attribute everything I have to Mr. Graves, and I hope that one day he creates a new company that I can be a part of in order to further the skill sets that I have built over the years.

Incredibly, Mr. Graves armed the tribes with the weapons by way of high-earning Class II games they needed to force the states to negotiate compacts1 with tribes allowing them to run Class III games, just like Las Vegas casinos.

Mr. Graves retired twice, first when he left MGAM, then again after he started an amusement games company called Aces Wired in Texas and settled his legal battle with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. He was seventy-four. A close associate of Mr. Graves, David Hatton, past president of Chickasaw Enterprises, said, “Gordon was not just retiring, he was preparing to die.” Then Mr. Graves met his wife, Linda, and regained a new zest for life.

Throughout my career at Multimedia, which is now known as Everi, I often brag to people when Mr. Graves’s name comes up. I am one of the lucky ones able to say I worked with him and continue to work for his legacy. To this day, I still follow Mr. Graves and imagine what might come next. Mr. Graves is a great man and very solid. I, and many others, would follow Mr. Graves on any business venture, as we know it will be a success.

1. Compacts are agreements, or treaties, with Indian Tribes