By Hailey Palmer, Puyallup Tribal News
Two new faces are roaming the floor of the Emerald Queen Casino as new management recently took over the Tribe’s casinos in Tacoma and Fife.
Yale Rowe and Peter Chu are now in charge of the two casinos and bring with them a wealth of knowledge and experience in the hospitality, gaming and entertainment industries. Rowe has assumed the role of CEO and Chu has taken on the COO position, respectively.
They succeed Frank Wright and George Robinson who oversaw the humble beginnings of the Emerald Queen Casino Riverboat all the way to the 310,000-square-foot facility in Tacoma today.
Puyallup Tribal Council Chairman Bill Sterud wanted to thank Wright and Robinson for their 20-plus years managing the casinos.
“They did an outstanding job and I want to thank them for their time and what they put into it,” Sterud said. “We started with nothing and we brought in a riverboat out on the waterfront. It worked out well. With the size constraints we had to move over here with tents, but that’s totally making another casino. That’s two casinos they were a part of. The third had to start from scratch during COVID. They did an outstanding job during COVID. They are my friends.”
Sterud also said he’s looking forward to seeing what Rowe and Chu bring to the table.
“It’s going to be an exciting new time in the casino industry on the Puyallup Reservation,” Sterud said. “We’ve brought in two people to manage and move forward in this new age of gaming we’re in competition with. I welcome them aboard. It’s an exciting era for the Tribe.”
Rowe’s experience includes management of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas before becoming president of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe.
“I had no intention on getting into the gaming business, but I happened to be in Las Vegas going to college,” he said. “I started in housekeeping and to this day it is still probably the best learning experience I’ve had. … I’m good at trying to get everybody on the same sheet of music and moving toward a common goal, whatever that might be.”
Chu also brings in a wealth of experience, which began with Hyatt International Hotels in Asia. From there, he worked for different hotel corporations all over the United States.
He became involved in the gaming side of the industry with Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., where he was part of the development and opening team for the first integrated casino resort in Vietnam. He also worked for Boyd Gaming Corporation prior to joining Emerald Queen Casino.
“I picked up more gaming experience in Louisiana and really dived into the systems of the table games, slots and all the basic stuff,” he said. “I moved around with the company and moved to Colorado, Louisiana, Kentucky and now here I am. This is the place – the best place.”
While their careers have taken them all around the world up to this point, coming to Tacoma and Fife to manage both Emerald Queen Casino locations was an opportunity neither could pass up.
Rowe spent about a decade doing consulting work on his own, moving him further away from the day-to-day operations of places and looking at the big picture. Getting back to making intimate decisions that impacted all parts of the operation is where Rowe wanted to be.
“I was being advised about the opportunity here in Tacoma with the Tribe. … The nature of the individuals I met – I met with Tribal Council, the economic development team – I was so excited about the conversation I had and what I saw from the physical plants – the success the Tribe was having with the new Tacoma property and the Fife property,” Rowe said. “I saw what I consider to be the ability to produce better results. … The ceiling is unlimited to what I think the potential is. I knew it would be satisfying to come in here, lead the team and create better results.”
Chu also said spending time with Tribal Council and the economic development team made him want to take the job.
“I felt good about this group of people – they really want to make an impact with the community, team members’ lives and want to make this a good place for everybody to enjoy,” he said. “You can sense they want to do well for the team and the guests. I talked with Yale, also. We have a similar type of vision of how we actually look at the operation, how we look at the team, how we look at guests. This is the right place for me.”
Rowe and Chu have a shared vision of wanting to be the best casino and hotel in the nation and maximize profits.
“It’s an exciting time to lead the Emerald Queen Casinos,” Rowe said. “What this Tribe has accomplished with the casinos over the last 30 years is special, and I look forward to guiding the operations to new heights.”
“We have all the components for success at Emerald Queen Casino, great and passionate team members, premium products and a supportive Tribal Council,” Chu said.
