To be an effective finance chief of an industry titan in the casino and resorts business, it’s extremely helpful to have seen the industry from other positions in the C-suite (and from other organizations). As the industry is highly competitive, regulated, and dynamic, successful executives must be able to navigate multiple areas of the business to succeed.
Marcus G. Glover, CFO of Bally’s, has been in leadership positions throughout the casino and gambling business for nearly 20 years. He was the former president and chief operations officer of the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and of the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Glover left the industry in May 2020 and became chief strategy officer of Quality Packaging Specialists International in Oct. 2021. In May 2023, however, he returned to the industry which kicked off his career — and became a CFO for the first time.
Marcus G. Glover
CFO, Bally’s
- First CFO position: 2023
- Notable previous companies:
- Caesars Entertainment
- MGM Resorts International
- Quality Packing Specialists International
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
ADAM ZAKI: You’ve had a few executive roles before being a CFO. What have they taught you about leadership and how to be successful in your new role?
MARCUS G. GLOVER: Fortunately, I often worked with leaders who provided fertile ground for nurturing and development along my journey. Through those lessons and experiences, I could see firsthand what works and what does not work as an executive leader.
Driving performance requires being willing to listen, being willing to learn, and, equally importantly, adapting. When I began my career, interactive and online gaming products were merely concepts. Today, they are a significant part of Bally’s global offering. Witnessing and playing a role in the industry’s growth has been remarkable.
How will you ensure financial stability and manage the risks associated with being in the casino business?
GLOVER: These are two of my primary focus points now. We have diversified and integrated offerings and numerous revenue streams across our land-based and interactive products, all supporting our long-term financial stability. Our differentiated portfolio also provides us with the flexibility to explore new opportunities. Focusing on process and fostering organizational communication are critical to ensuring alignment. As resources are finite, I also put a fair amount of emphasis on how we perform our work.
As for risk, preparation and anticipation are key in managing and mitigating risk. We need to be mindful of new regulations, amended guidelines, and changes in consumer behavior that can quickly impact our operations. We must anticipate and embrace shifting preferences as our industry and customer needs constantly evolve.
How do you forecast in an industry based on leisure and gambling? What strategies do you employ to optimize cash flow and maintain strong liquidity?
GLOVER: We’re fortunate to operate in an industry that captures mounds of data. We can leverage the data points and historical performance for our respective business segments to create relevant forecasts. To complement our historical data, we use several analytical tools and techniques that increase our intimacy and knowledge of performance.
Often, we don’t have to guess; we can follow what our data tells us. The casino gaming industry was at the forefront of some of the early work on customer loyalty and linking those inputs to revenue and profitability forecasts. Our casino and resorts and interactive segments are strong, cash-generating businesses. We determine our liquidity needs and prioritize our cash management practices, ensuring maximum productivity of our working capital.
Ensuring the appropriate cash load balances at our various properties, ensuring payable and receivable policies complement organizational objectives, and doing strategic tax planning are a few examples of ways we seek to maximize our liquidity position.
Cybersecurity is a big issue right now. What measures do you take to mitigate fraud both in finance and other areas of the company?
GLOVER: We are committed to doing all that we can to maintain the integrity of our operations, which includes maintaining the safety of our players, their personal information, and financial activity. Bally’s has invested in high-caliber, comprehensive data protection measures to protect our customers and our infrastructure from potential cyber threats and attacks.
We also constantly test and evaluate our systems to ensure the data protection protocols function properly and have implemented various measures to detect fraudulent activity across our platforms.
How do you evaluate the effectiveness, from a financial perspective, of marketing and promotional activities in driving customer acquisition and retention?
GLOVER: The goal for us is to drive profitable revenue. In our business, as we create demand through compelling offers and incentives, it’s very easy to drive top-line revenue. The key, however, is to do so profitably.
We take a unique and prudent approach to marketing and promotions. Our appetite for driving customer acquisition through expensive sponsorships and short-term financial incentives is small. We focus on sustainable programs that offer consistency to us as an operator and our customers. The key to our programs is transparency, inspiration, and aspiration as we build our Bally’s brand across a diverse portfolio of products, which will naturally drive customers to experience our marketing incentives and offerings.
The goal for us is to drive profitable revenue. In our business, as we create demand through compelling offers and incentives, it’s very easy to drive top-line revenues. The key, however, is to do so profitably.
Marcus G. Glover
CFO, Bally’s
We are also investing in media partnerships and our technology to drive omnichannel strategy and engagement. Our company is quite unique in the industry within the U.S., as we have equal online and retail revenues. There is a level of distinction in not only which channels we leverage in speaking with customers, but how we can communicate our products and value proposition. This fact further demonstrates our commitment and strategic focus to driving toward an omnichannel universe within Bally’s for all customers.
Specific to your industry, what new technology excites you the most, and how do you envision incorporating it into the business?
GLOVER: Any technology that offers integration, connectivity, and convenience always excites me. I am also excited to see the opportunities that recent advancements in AI and digitalization can have on our industry. The future of gaming and technology are interconnected, and we are determined to ensure that our gaming platforms are powered by the best technology that is convenient, user-friendly, and comprehensive in functionality and collecting key data attributes.