STEVENS, Brent

STEVENS, Brent. Los Angeles, CA, 1960-- ). The CEO of Peninsula Gaming,Brent Stevens was raised as one of four children by a single working mother. Swimming was his only route to college and a scholarship allowed him his chance at a degree. That degree lead to yet more study and his achievements lead to an MBA from the prestigious Wharton School.

Now as a senior executive at Jefferies and Company, Inc., lauded during the recent financial crisis as one of the most respected global investment banks, and Stevens credits his success to an easy formula. We asked him how he now faces the challenges in his industry and difficult media coverage yet continues believing in and investing in new ideas even when critics, the media, or a doubting public stands in the way? “It doesn’t matter what people say or think about you,” said Stevens. “What matters is that you understand and always live by your values, focus on the quality of what you offer, and have faith in your team to live up to even your highest expectations of quality.”

While doing trend analysis well over a decade ago Stevens noticed a set of trends in the gaming and entertainment market that caught his attention. He then had the idea that if these trends were true and the right kind of community could be found to support this wholly new and unprecedented kind of gaming project he had in mind, there may be a great opportunity. In fact long before the big casino industry names turned to the stock market to fund growth, Brent Stevens was driving across the Highway 20 Bridge into Dubuque, Iowa, to meet a woman named Natalie Shramm who would be the first of many to convince him that he had found the very kind of people he needed to change the casino industry forever. “It was the strength of the local leaders that really sold me, “Stevens told us. “They knew how to get things done.” He then paused and added, “The community had a reputation of a quality workforce and we found a pool of real talent here in Dubuque starting with the day I met Natalie and then from there it just kept growing and growing.”

With the December, 2010 vote by the Kansas Gaming Board, awarding a 5th gaming license to Peninsula’s existing four successful properties, thecompany will soon have nearly 3000 employees with 50 here at their corporate headquarters in Dubuque.

By 2004 the Diamond Jo was the clear market leader in Dubuque, outpacing the Greyhound Park & Casino by nearly 10% annually. However, by 2005 the regional market began to flatten and Stevens and his team realized that the only way to grow was to invest. What is worth noting is that had they not made that decision the Diamond Jo, even with a declining market, would have easily retained their market lead and made a generous profit. While Stevens assured community leaders that the analysis showed clearly that in the end both casinos would come out the winner, many local leaders doubted his projections and momentum in either casinos ability to invest faltered.

Despite his willingness to begin immediately and his faith in the analysis behind his assertion that his competitor would also greatly benefit over time, it became clear that the only political path for investment would mean his