- College of New Jersey Trenton
AWARDS
Cheeks was awarded San Diego Business Journal's “Business Woman of the Year” in 2021.
EMPLOYMENT
Cheeks has 30 years of experience in casino management and casino finance.
Cheeks grew up in Atlantic City and earned her Bachelor’s of Science degree in accounting from the college of New Jersey in Trenton. She initially interned and then worked as a field auditor for the Internal Revenue Service.This eventually led her to take a job as a supervisor in internal audit at Resorts International Casino.
She moved from Resorts to Caesars Entertainment. For nearly a decade, she worked as CFO of Harrah’s Atlantic City and Showboat Casino, from November 2000 to July 2010.
Cheeks said, “My experience in Atlantic City taught me how to compete in an ultra-competitive market with 12 casinos (now nine) all within walking distance of my home. Also, I learned how to operate in hard times versus great times once regional casinos began operating in neighboring states to New Jersey. Most important to my career, I learned every operation within the casino that prepared me for where I am today."
From Atlantic City she moved to become CFO and SVP of Rush Street Gaming’s Pennsylvania operations. For five years, from July 2010 to May 2015, she oversaw SugarHouse Philadelphia Casino and Rivers Pittsburgh Casino.
Next, Cheeks was promoted to General Manager of Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, New York, from June 2015 to November 2017. Cheeks joined the Jamul Casino team in May 2018.
She was initially tasked with helping the casino through an ownership change and a rebranding. In just months, she helped rebrand the casino and recruited a management team.
After that, Cheeks had to guide Jamul Casino through the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Jamul Casino is owned by the Jamul Indian Village, one of 12 federally recognized tribes that are part of the Kumeyaay Nation of Southern California. The casino supports more than 1,000 jobs and invests millions of dollars in road safety improvements, emergency services and philanthropic projects in the San Diego area.
Cheeks said, “My current boss, Erica Pinto, chairwoman of Jamul Indian Village, and the Tribal council, entrust me to run their casino. As a group with a great executive team, we have made extraordinary accomplishments.”
“I fell in love with the industry. What fascinated me was a business with so many different operations—so much to learn and master” Mary Cheeks
Interviews and public speeches
In September 2023, Stephanie Feeley spoke to Cheeks for the CEO Special of Gaming America magazine, about how family guidance and her passion for math led to always putting her team and guests ‘FIRST.'
