The Solomon file
Born: Covina, Calif.
First job: I started in the industry as a slot mechanic when I was 20 years old.
What is the best business lesson you’ve learned?
You have to put in the time. Early in my career, I worked for the company that became Mandalay Resort Group. My first boss asked me how much I wanted to work, and I told him I wanted to work enough to get paid as much as I could per week. So they put me on salary, and that turned out to be a great strategic decision. I put in all the time I could, they never sent me home due to incurring overtime, and I learned a lot about various aspects of the industry. It turned out to be a very critical thing in my career.
One of my peers once said, ‘A smart guy learns in one hour what it takes me eight. But I put in nine hours, so that makes me smarter than him.’ That really stuck with me.
What is your definition of success?
Success is still measured by the bottom line in any business. But what I would say is that success is producing the highest return on investment in a way that is still mindful of the human beings involved in the process.
