Cannery’s new head climbed from knight to general manager

From shining knight at the Excalibur to gladiator at Caesars in Atlantic City, Ryan Paulos has worn many hats, but none has been more impactful than his current role as the general manager and vice president of the Cannery in North Las Vegas.

The 42-year-old, born-and-raised Las Vegan was promoted to his position in March after being involved with the company for 14 years.

“I walked into a pretty good situation,” Paulos said. “The property was doing just fine before I got here, and there have been little to no morale issues. My goal is really to try to keep everything moving with the least amount of disruption possible. I want everyone to feel comfortable.”

As the senior executive, Paulos handles all management of the property and oversees property operations, human resources, gaming, security, food and beverage, and marketing.

Before joining the Cannery, Paulos was the slot shift manager for Greektown Casino Hotel in Detroit and slot supervisor at The Venetian. He began his gaming career in a management training program at Nevada Palace, now the Eastside Cannery, where he spent time in all of the gaming departments. He has also provided gaming consultation to casinos across the country.

Now with more than 20 years of experience in the gaming industry, Paulos said he is confident he can provide the right leadership for the development and implementation of organizational goals, plans, budgets and revenue strategies.

He started as the assistant director of slot operations at the Rampart Casino and came to the Cannery when it opened in 2001 as the director of slot operations. He also worked a short stint as the assistant general manager of the Eastside Cannery. Paulos was the vice president of gaming operations for five years before his current position.

“I’m not here to rock the boat and change everything,” Paulos said.

While he might not be trying to create drastic changes, changes might be coming as the casino was recently sold to Boyd Gaming.

“I’m excited for the opportunities that may present themselves with a much larger corporation,” Paulos said. “Only time will tell what type of changes we’ll see.”

As North Las Vegas heads toward an emerging hub for technology startups, Paulos said he looks forward to attracting a new type of customer.

“This is becoming an economically and socially diverse area,” Paulos said. “My goal is to let people know about the casino and let them see for themselves what we have to offer.”

Paulos also makes it a point to continue strengthening the casino’s relationship with the surrounding community. Paulos said the casino hosts a monthly USO dinner for families of deployed troops and partners with a school to donate uniforms and movie tickets to the students.

For the casino’s strong community work, the city honored it for being a good community neighbor.

“What all of us enjoy about working with Ryan is that he has quite literally done every job in practically every department,” said Holly O’Brien, director of marketing for the Cannery. “This makes him not only very capable but incredibly empathetic. He’s been there. We learn from his depth and breadth of experience. He always puts the customer first — whether internal employee or casino guest.”

Although Paulos has come a long way since his knight and gladiator days, his roots as a fighter aren’t all lost. Paulos continues to do Muay Thai sparring, a form of kickboxing that uses elbows and knees, and he enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.

“Our tagline is, ‘Have fun, make money,’ ” Paulos said. “My focus is to make sure that everyone feels welcomed and comfortable here.”

To reach North View reporter Sandy Lopez, email slopez@viewnews.com or call 702-383-4686. Find her on Twitter: @JournalismSandy.