Jason Gregorec joined Delaware North in August as president of the company’s Gaming division. He brings with him an extensive background with some of the world’s leading gaming and hospitality companies, including Caesars Entertainment and Eldorado Resorts. Gregorec managed the financial performance, staffing and guest experience at iconic locations such as Paris, Planet Hollywood and Horseshoe resorts, and led the remodeling and rebranding of Bally’s Las Vegas into Horseshoe Las Vegas.  

You bring more than 30 years of diverse casino experience to Delaware North.
Tell us a little about your background and how that has impacted your career.  

I’ve work in numerous roles throughout my career. My first position in the casino industry was a bartender, then a dealer, and then I continued to work my way up through the industry in multiple departments – which gave me a great perspective and appreciation of the hard work the team does and what it takes to successfully run a property each day. 

It also helped me to see the importance of maintaining the connection between leaders and frontline team members. Whether that is through town halls, skip-level meetings or roundtables, I think it’s important to hear directly from team members on both the successes and challenges that they are facing. 

What are your first impressions about Delaware North’s Gaming properties? 

The biggest impact I’ve noticed is the service team members are providing to both internal and external guests. Everyone was welcoming and the facilities are clean and well-maintained – just overall great products. I’d never been to a Delaware North Gaming property before joining the company, and I was very impressed. 

The difference between good service and great service is anticipating the guest’s needs, especially guests coming to the properties regularly. Every casino offers similar gaming products, but the outstanding service our team provides is Delaware North’s competitive advantage. 

Tell us about your leadership style. How does it fit with Delaware North’s culture? 

It’s about putting the people first. In working for multiple companies, I’ve been exposed to different leadership styles and have taken the best aspects from leaders at each of those to create my own style.  

For me, it comes down to being genuine and sincere with your people. I believe there is a difference between managing people and leading people, and we want to make sure we are acting as leaders for our team and the organization. 

Culture and values are everything to me and what drew me to Delaware North. I felt and saw that early on – everyone is working together with a common goal in mind. It’s about putting the people – both guests and team members – first. 

How has it been working with the Gaming leadership team, including Group President Brian Hansberry? 

In my initial meetings with other company leaders, I saw the collaboration and different elements of the company’s strategic imperatives and values displayed. Seeing the culture in action reinforced that I was in the right place. 

The Gaming leadership team is well-rounded with a good blend of experience, both in the industry and with Delaware North. Each of us brings a different perspective to the table, which helps to support new thoughts and ideas while having an underlying understanding of our shared goals, values and mission. 

Brian has decades of vast knowledge and diverse experience in the casino industry, which is critical to the success of the Gaming division. He has a great strategic outlook and can look at the division and not only see what’s next, but what is several steps down the road. I am excited to learn and grow under Brian’s leadership. 

The Gaming division leadership team recently expanded with the addition of David Kopasz as chief hospitality officer and Lee Terfloth as chief interactive gaming officer. What do you anticipate will be the impact? 

David and Lee both join the team with a diverse background and specialized experience in their respective areas. David has vast experience leading high-performing teams at some of the largest and most successful resorts in the country. He will drive performance in non-gaming departments, elevate our service standards and take our VIP experiences to the next level. 

Lee’s extensive experience in digital/online gaming and unique skill set will help us to drive growth with our online gaming offerings, including social, sports betting and iCasino (online gaming) and propel Gamewise to new records. Both David and Lee are tremendous additions and will make impactful improvements in the Gaming division. 

What are your plans for Delaware North’s interactive gaming division, Gamewise? 

Online gaming is growing tremendously, so it’s a very important part of the overall Gaming strategy for Delaware North.  

We’re working on transitioning Gamewise to a new platform, the best available on the market, which will improve the guest experience and allow more flexibility for content. It will serve as an omnichannel solution for our player loyalty programs and allow us to offer a first-class product. We can then expand into additional states as they become available. 

Our strategy is not to be the biggest, but to offer the absolute best experience for our guests. With the addition of Lee, I am excited to see him execute our goals. 

Another show of thanks in Media was a program that included tributes to women in the armed services, including the parade’s grand marshal, Master Sergeant Tanya Harris of the Air Force and Air National Guard.

“I think it’s important for people to know that women are in the military too, we’re not just secretaries and admin assistants,” said Harris. “They’re pilots, they’re navigators.”

As part of the program, middle school students read essays they’d written in honor of inspirational women in the military.

Morgan Vaughn of Levittown wrote about her stepmother, Tiquicia Spence, who serves full-time with the Army National Guard.

“She works really hard for her family and her country, so I find that inspiring,” said Vaughn.

“Being an inspiration for her and any other kids, it always hits home,” said Spence.

The parade and program brought together people of all ages.

“You’ve got the real McCoy here,” said World War II veteran Ed Buffman, the founder of the Pennsylvania Veterans Museum.

The County of Delaware and its Intermediate Unit helped with the celebration in Media as well.

People like VFW Post volunteer Kelly O’Loughlin appreciate the chance to show veterans how much they mean to the community.

“Show them respect,” she said. “That’s the key to life.”