Business Leader: Kyle Kirkland

Business Leader: Kyle Kirkland

Posted Wednesday, January 06, 2010; 13:44 PM

Kyle Kirkland, owner/president, Club One Casino

by James Olinger

Kyle Kirkland, owner/president, Club One Casino     Fresno, CA (Jan. 6, 2010) – Even though he was born in Portsmouth, VA, Kyle Kirkland spent most of his childhood in Maine. Kirkland’s father worked for a bank, and his mother was a teacher.  He was involved in sports, including soccer, and tennis in high school.  He also delivered newspapers and shoveled snow in what he calls a “rural area.” He said that playing tennis heavily impacted his life and his health. “I was kind of an overweight kid, and then I started playing tennis and started running,” Kirkland said. He attended Harvard College, where he earned an undergraduate degree in economics, and then received an M.B.A. in business administration from Stanford University.  After graduating from Stanford, he worked at the investment banking firm Drexel Burnham Lambert.  He then worked with some friends in Beverly Hills, which is where he met longtime partner Dana Messina, whom he’s worked with the past 20 years. While he was an investment banker he was involved in a leverage buyout of the Selmer Co., which was the leading producer of band and orchestra instruments in the United States.  At the time, Selmer was owned by a company that was being liquidated.  It came up for sale, and they purchased it.  Kirkland said that the deal was written about in Forbes magazine. 16 to 18 months later he and Messina heard that Steinway and Sons, the largest manufacturer of musical instruments in the country, was for sale.  The partners are both shareholders in the company, and Kirkland is the chair of the board. “We had tossed ourselves into the bidding for that and ultimately won it, and we’ve since gone public,” Kirkland said. The two also own the company Kirkland Messina, Inc., with offices in Los Angeles.  They have done some financial work for the Commerce Club, the biggest card club in the world.  That was when Kirkland first became involved in the card club industry. Kirkland and Messina first met the owners of Fresno’s Club One Casino in 2006.  One owner was looking to retire from the business, and the casino was put up for sale.  In February of 2008 Kirkland and Messina became the new owners of the establishment.  By that time Kirkland had a good knowledge of the card club industry, and had even developed a poker information Web site. “It was considered one of the leading providers of information on poker rooms,” Kirkland said.  “So I knew a little bit about the business.” Since purchasing the casino, the plan was to improve different aspects of the business. “We’re in the customer service business, the hospitality business,” Kirkland said.  “We’re trying to provide food and beverage and entertainment options to people, and make a profit doing it.” Club One Casino operates in Fresno’s downtown area, and has not closed since it first opened its doors in the mid-90s.  It offers 49 card tables with a variety of card games, including Texas Hold ‘Em Poker.  The casino also boasts a restaurant featuring Asian and American cuisine, and is a place where patrons can view televised or pay-per-view sporting events.  The establishment employs 310. “It’s a constant scheduling exercise,” Kirkland said.  “That’s definitely unusual.  Every other business I’ve been in, at some point it shuts.” Kirkland said that a couple of goals he had coming into the business was to be more aggressive in the marketing aspect, and pay more attention to the food and beverages. “Coming in, the strategy was let’s get in, let’s try to understand it and see what we can improve on,” he said. According to Kirkland, if the California Lottery is included, California is the biggest gaming market in America.  It is home to 58-60 tribal casinos and 90 card rooms, as well as race tracks.  However, people come from 150-200 miles away to take part in Club One Casino’s card tournaments, and it is a venue that doesn’t close at all, which is unheard of in downtown. Kirkland feels comfortable knowing that there are several Native American gaming casinos nearby. “I feel like in what we do we’re very competitive,” he said.  “We’re very competitive in our table games, our food and beverage experience, our customer service.  I feel very comfortable competing.” Despite his busy schedule, Kirkland makes time to not only be on the board of Steinway, but also the board of the California Gaming Association and the Downtown Association of Fresno. Kirkland has a wife, Stephanie, and several hobbies that include reading, playing tennis, working out in the gym, and traveling. “Over the last couple of years, with the economy, with this business, with our other business, it’s definitely been a challenge,” he said.  “So I find myself working longer and harder, which tends to leave less time for fun activities.” He has also played poker in major poker competitions, and has an idea of what the future of gambling will be like. “I think gaming’s going to get more sophisticated,” Kirkland said.  “Over the next few years, the folks that survive and establish themselves are going to be the ones, when the economy turns, they’ll really have a bit more presence.” Listen to the Business Street “Business Leader of the Week” every Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. on “The Alan Autry Show” on KYNO 1300 A.M.  Business Street’s Business Leaders are featured every Thursday, only on KYNO 1300 A.M.