If anyone has ever tried to find a link between paleontology and gambling, they’ll hit the jackpot when they meet Michael Silberling. Growing up in California, Silberling’s father was a paleontologist, exposing him to the mountainous landscape of Nevada as a child. But, reflecting on a career that with hindsight seemed destined for gaming, he admits there were a few “other tells” early on. Not least of which was the first elective course Silberling took in college: probability and gambling. Around the same time, the now CEO also played “a bit of poker” and, given this concoction, the Management Training Programme at The Promus Companies – which would subsequently become Harrah’s then Caesars – felt like the perfect step to launch Silberling’s gaming journey.
As Gambling Insider sits with Silberling at the Metropolitan Casino Mayfair, we are surrounded by lavish decor, high-grossing table games and the general sense of ‘yes, this is Mayfair.’ It is exactly the kind of property the term ‘VIP’ was coined for – inviting exactly the kind of clientele that would be considered ‘high-end.’ And yet these surroundings were not always home for a young Michael Silberling. Far from it, in fact, as the exec tells us his first job was that of a dishwasher. “I think that's invaluable,” he remarks. “I think those early lessons as a dishwasher, and as a bartender, have been invaluable. I’m still truly appreciative of people who are on the front line and serving customers.” The sentiment reminds Gambling Insider of our CEO Special interview with MGM Resorts chief Bill Hornbuckle back in 2020, who told us he started out as a bus boy. Like Hornbuckle, any glitz or glamour Silberling sees around him today is the result of hard work and determination alone. There was no silver spoon for him starting out, except perhaps those he washed on duty.
I think what I have seen is a little bit of a pattern, in that I don't go into established businesses where everything is running smoothly and fantastically. Instead, I seem to jump into the fire
Oceania by way of Nevada
“Before I joined the casino business, I worked in hospitality so I know how hard it is to do shift work and different hours, different jobs,” Silberling continues. “However, after joining the Promus Companies I was lucky to later be in marketing, operations and finance, so that was very important, as well as getting exposure geographically to different regions and understanding that there were different ways to do business. There is not just one right way. I also learnt under [former Caesars Entertainment CEO] Gary Loveman's leadership, and he introduced me to his thoughts on loyalty programmes and the use of data in business. He taught me about the service profit chain, which is: happy employees give good service, which leads to customers coming back, which leads to financial performance. So there was a very solid grounding from my perspective during that period of time.”
Naturally, Silberling looks back on his time at Promus (then Harrah’s, then Caesars) as a “significant part” of his early career. The timing was “fortuitous,” as the casino industry had just started to expand. This made it a “very good time” to join the organisation, not just from a strategic standpoint but because it was “in a massive growth phase.” Over his years with the company, Silberling went on to witness riverboat gambling, Indian gaming and international expansion. He also rose through the ranks in what he feels was “not very long” from manager to director to VP, then SVP and President (of International Operations) – all fueled by the company’s “rapid expansion.”
Soon, Silberling’s career would no longer be limited to North America, as his international expansion experience became a little more literal – with a particular focus on the continent of Oceania. “Oh, it's been a bit of a travelogue for me, hasn't it?” he quips. “Because I started in Nevada, then I opened Harrah's first international property in New Zealand. I went back to Nevada and then I went to Australia. After that, I went to the Midwest, and then to London. Between these, I learnt that there are some universal truths about customers and the casino hospitality business everywhere. But there are of course some changes in the different environments, in terms of customer tastes, and political and regulatory environments.”
From trouble in Paradise to Mohegan sunshine
Silberling’s years of experience had, by this point, spanned three continents and four different brands. Some 14 years at Harrah’s interweaved with three at SkyCity, three at London Clubs International and a further three at President level with Caesars. Collectively, this all prepared him for what was to become his first CEO role at Affinity Gaming, in August 2014. Yet Silberling recollects that were easier gigs he could have picked… prompting a moment of self-realisation for the executive. He tells Gambling Insider: “Affinity Gaming was my first CEO role. It was my first time going into a private equity company too. I think what I have seen is a little bit of a pattern, in that I don't go into established businesses where everything is running smoothly and fantastically. Instead, I seem to jump into the fire; and I have examples of that in Laughlin, Reno and other times in my career.”
Certainly, “jumping into the fire” is an appropriate phrase when it comes to the appointment at Affinity. Alas, Board directors were suing one another. Following a company data breach, three state attorney generals were also – you guessed it – suing Affinity. Perhaps predictably in such a chaotic environment, financial performance wasn’t “where we wanted it to be.” But, summing the turnaround up rather succinctly, Silberling is “really proud” of a “very interesting and dynamic time” that saw the company’s finances come good. Here, though, Silberling is keen to credit “several people on my team” without which Affinity could not have achieved the feat.
The executive’s next move was a unique one, in that he moved from CEO to COO – and from his first private equity firm to his first tribal organisation. Indeed, in October 2018, Silberling was appointed Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment’s Chief Operating Officer, a “different chapter” that left him with “nothing but respect” for what the tribe had achieved. This was especially in relation to its flagship property at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. “It’s a fantastic property with a number of restaurants, bars, nightclubs, hotels, a golf club and spa,” the exec comments. “The tribe has expanded and diversified the business, too, including but not limited to owning professional sports teams and expanding internationally.
“Interestingly, they take a much longer-term approach to their business. It takes a generational approach, unlike a public company, which is every quarter; or private equity company approach, which is ‘we want to sell this business in three to five years.’ A generational approach in the respect with which they treat their employees in this long term is very interesting to me. It was very clear as they brought me into the business that this was their approach. But it's definitely a mindset change when you think about it. It's a very different, interesting and, in many ways, healthy approach to running the business.”
“I seem to parachute myself into troubled situations”
After Silberling’s earlier suggestion of a tendency to avoid smoothly functioning, established businesses, Gambling Insider was curious as to the exact motivation here – whether these situations kept developing particularly because Silberling loves a challenge, or whether it was just circumstance. In response, he is keen to point out that not every job he had was like this: Mohegan being a case in point. But he admits there is “no question” he does like a challenge. In Laughlin, for example, Silberling was able to grow his business following several years of consecutive decline. In Reno, meanwhile, Silberling was the fourth General Manager hired within the space of a year.
When he arrived in London, the exec was also greeted by a freshly implemented smoking ban – along with the small matter of the onset of the global financial crisis. In fact, he summarises: “I seem to parachute myself into troubled situations. I do think I like the challenge. I do think I like the intellectual stimulation that comes from having to address things with some degree of urgency.”
But on top of his desire for a challenge, another common theme in Silberling’s career is the fact he has been repeatedly rehired by previous employers. The CEO earlier talked about happy employees providing good service, which ultimately leads to returning customers. It seems Silberling has applied this mantra quite literally to his own journey. “When I left Caesars to go to Australia, they hired me back to run their Midwest business, and when I left SkyCity to come back to Nevada, they hired me back to run their Australian business.” This trend has not stopped, either, with Silver Point Capital, for whom Silberling worked when CEO of Affinity Gaming, appointing him once again as CEO of Metropolitan Gaming in August 2021 – the role he still holds in London to this day.
Advance to Mayfair, do not pass Go
For those of you who understand the above reference to the famous ‘Monopoly’ game, Silberling’s career is comparable to a journey around the famous board. Right now, he is in a strong position – Mayfair is at the board’s very pinnacle and, in real life, one of the go-to places of the casino world. But, like a Monopoly player trying to avoid the game’s many hazards (rent, fines, going back three spaces or worse), Silberling faces constant hurdles. “Once again, it’s a business that is challenged by external factors,” he explains. “Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the business was largely closed, to a current operating environment where there's the greatest world war in Europe since World War II, there’s a cost of living crisis, high inflation, and some uncertainty with the UK Government, the White Paper and what will be allowed in a political and regulatory environment.”
Silberling is forced to conclude that, not for the first time in his career, his job is “quite challenging.” In addition, he references the fact the UK has had, during this time, a new monarch, several Prime Ministers and “too many heads of the DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport) for me to even count.” And yet Silberling – a characteristic that has shaped his time in gaming – is optimistic the work he and his team are doing “will negotiate the tides,” allowing Metropolitan Gaming to come out in a better space.
Undoubtedly, the greatest uncertainty facing the UK market is of a regulatory nature. The aforementioned White Paper genuinely took years to produce, with an almost-countless number of revisions, and was published on 27 April 2023. In itself, it was only a set of recommendations for how the UK market can update its Gambling Act – now outdated having been introduced in 2005. It is telling that, since April, there has been no actual implementation of these recommendations, as the UK Government, Gambling Commission and industry stakeholders continue to undergo a series of follow-up consultations. For anyone following the subject closely, there will be familiarity with a concept of ‘don’t expect anything any time soon.’
At the time, I was wearing a rental suit and the trousers had malfunctioned, which meant the entire time I was meeting the Queen with the BBC cameras there, I thought my trousers were about to fall down! But I’m pleased to say they did not…
The UK: A lost opportunity
Understandably, this creates a great source of frustration for the Metropolitan Gaming CEO. He has previously appeared on a GI Huddle video interview bemoaning what he considers to be a rather contradictory set of restrictions in the UK compared to the US. “There are big political and environmental differences,” he explains to Gambling Insider. “There's such a lost opportunity in the UK for jobs and capital, as well as investment for tax generation and tourism. There's been tremendous debate about whether land-based casinos should go from 20 slot machines to 80 slot machines. And yet the reality is that every single adult in the UK who has a phone or a tablet has the ability to turn that into a slot machine. They could be anywhere and they could pull up a slot machine based out of Gibraltar and generate employment for the Gibraltar economy.”
Given his experience with Caesars and the like, Silberling can not only draw on theory but personal experience when it comes to the US. The Las Vegas approach – a city that has become the entertainment capital of the world, evolving from a gambling-only destination – boasts entertainment venues, high-profile concerts, restaurants and bars that can attract international visitors. But, of course, all of these amenities stem originally from the casinos themselves, and from regulation allowing those properties to thrive. Granted, Las Vegas resorts have far more geographical space to utilise. In the UK, however, there are still great question marks about how the readily available space within a casino is ultimately under-utilised due to legally imposed limitations. Silberling argues that this is even more pressing case with regards to “intrusive” financial checks for gamblers – especially when compared to other industries.
“On the regulatory side, I think people should be allowed to make individual choices. I really find that the regulatory environment is so intrusive to people's personal freedom and allowing them to participate in a legal activity that is enjoyed by adults worldwide. The checks and balances they make people go through in the UK regulatory environment to enjoy a casino are very different from what someone would have to do to enjoy an alternative activity. My daughter could go into a nightclub and spend a fair amount of money on a table and champagne without anyone bothering her. And yet, if she wanted to do that in a casino, she would be subjected to any number of checks.”
Meeting the Queen
The Metropolitan Gaming CEO has already alluded to the fact that the UK has seen more than one monarch in recent times, following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022. The late Queen Elizabeth was succeeded by her son – now King Charles III – and Silberling has actually met both monarchs. Indeed, Silberling’s LinkedIn profile picture proudly shows him standing with a younger Prince Charles, although he jokes that this “wasn’t for my charm, personality or good looks!” Instead, Silberling was meeting royalty due to the fact he was contributing to the Prince’s Trust, a UK youth charity. “I was lucky as a suburban boy from California to have met royalty. My mother was very impressed with that,” he beams.
As for Silberling’s meeting with the Queen, though, there is a little more humour to that story…
“We were giving the prize to the leading jockey and trainer of the Royal Ascot series and she came down to participate in the ceremony,” the CEO recalls. “At the time, I was wearing a rental suit and the trousers had malfunctioned, which meant the entire time I was meeting the Queen with the BBC cameras there, I thought my trousers were about to fall down! But I’m pleased to say they did not…”
Charity, in general, is a huge part of Silberling’s life, both personally and professionally. The CEO tries to support research into the treatment of Alzheimer’s as much as he can, an affliction that, tragically, has affected his family. Growing up as the son of a Stanford professor, Silberling was also adopted, and is therefore “always interested in supporting children; especially those in adoptive circumstances or without parents.”
Dungeons and Dragons
Outside of Metropolitan Gaming, Silberling serves on the team at SCCG Management and is close friends with Founder Stephen Crystal, himself a friend of Gambling Insider’s and a regular contributor to Huddle interviews and Gaming America magazine. The pair were classmates at Dartmouth College and have known each other since the 1980s – or “what seems like the Jurassic Age.” “As someone who has climbed the corporate ladder and worked in the corporate environment, I always have respect for entrepreneurs,” Silberling comments. “And he is the consummate entrepreneur who is looking for and investing in new business opportunities. So, to the extent that my extensive experience in the casino and online business helps him, as an advisory board member, I'm happy to do so. Steve is a friend.”
Meanwhile, outside of boardrooms altogether, Silberling enjoys an active lifestyle, particularly the outdoors. While he holds “no interest” in climbing Mount Everest, he has summitted Mount Kilimanjaro, also possessing a love of skiing, hiking and playing tennis. He loves travel, spending time with his children and, additionally, board games. Here, Silberling surprises Gambling Insider with the revelation that he is “a bit of a geek.” He even used to play Dungeons and Dragons. We reassure Silberling, however, when he asks “if today’s generation even knows what that is.” With fans of the classic game in our own office – and a movie released in 2023 – the CEO is in good company!
I can't triple employee wages, or change the odds on the roulette table while driving financial performance all at the same time. I'm a big boy and they’re paying me to make these decisions. But I'm no longer able to walk away with my job done at the end of the day and have everybody happy with the decisions I've made
A common purpose
As our interview draws to a close, we return our conversation to the life of a CEO. It can be grueling – with no ‘off button.’ “I remember early in my career as a bartender that, at the end of the day, I was done. My till was balanced, my customers left happy, my colleagues and boss were happy… but as a CEO, you're never done.” There is always “more to do,” Silberling muses, with some days even being about selecting “what not to tackle.” There are so many factors to weigh upon an ever-balancing scale: employee morale, customer service, financial performance and conducting business the right way.
This leads to an important acknowledgement that “there are tradeoffs in making people happy.” And, in fact, considering all the inspirational life lessons industry leaders have provided Gambling Insider across various CEO Specials, Silberling’s next piece of advice might be one of the most crucial for any C-Level executive to heed. He is extremely down to earth, sans any one-size-fits-all clichés, when he says: “I can't triple employee wages, or change the odds on the roulette table while driving financial performance all at the same time. I'm a big boy and they’re paying me to make these decisions. But I'm no longer able to walk away with my job done at the end of the day and have everybody happy with the decisions I've made.”
That said, there is one aspect of C-level leadership the Metropolitan Gaming CEO is able to single out with relish. “What I get the most enjoyment out of is being part of a team that feels they're being successful in creating new and interesting things,” he comments, summing up one of the most satisfying feelings any manager or business leader can experience. Perhaps that is why Silberling has willingly taken on so many daunting challenges throughout his career – and, to date, successfully navigated them. Oh, he gets by with a little help from his team… concluding: “As a CEO, the thing I enjoy most is building a team that is working together for a common purpose.”
