Long-Time Gaming Industry Veteran, Juris Basens Earns Senior VP Assistant General Manager Role with del Lago Resort & Casino
Posted on July 14th, 2016
3/30/2016
Basens Has Been with Wilmorite Company Since 2003
TYRE, N.Y. March 30, 2016 — Starting out as a card dealer in 1978, Juris Basens could not have known that his gaming career would go this far. Nevertheless, his hard work and perseverance have paid off as the long-time industry veteran was recently named senior vice president assistant general manager for del Lago Resort & Casino.
“Few people have the depth and breadth of experience that Juris has – his perspective will be an incredible asset in bringing the vision of del Lago to life,” said Jeff Babinski, senior vice president and general manager at del Lago Resort & Casino. “With nearly four decades in the gaming industry, he has the knowledge and insight of all aspects of the business and knows what it takes to run a successful resort and casino.”
Basens began his casino and hospitality career in 1978 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with Resorts International, the first legalized casino outside Las Vegas. There, he held positions as a dealer, casino supervisor, pit boss, shift manager and casino liaison to information technology, garnering precious experience all the while. From there, he managed casino properties in Nassau, Bahamas, Iowa, Illinois, Mississippi and Louisiana. His experience includes hands-on design, pre-opening, recruiting, and day-to-day management and oversight. Basens’ extensive casino background includes opening 14 casinos, designing and developing seven, and managing 15 — serving as chief operating officer for eight of the casinos he managed.
Basens joined Wilmorite as vice president of gaming operations in 2003, responsible for overseeing and directing all casino operations, including staffing, budgeting, capital planning, operating policies, marketing, and local, state and federal regulatory compliance.
Some noteworthy projects throughout his career include Buena Vue Resort Hotel & Casino (Ione, California), First Council Casino (Newkirk, Oklahoma), Resorts International Hotel and Casino (Atlantic City, New Jersey), Carnival’s Crystal Palace (Nassau, Bahamas), Isle of Capri Casinos (Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana and Mississippi), Casino Magic Corporation (Mississippi and Louisiana), Hollywood Casinos (Shreveport, Louisiana) and Pinnacle Entertainment (Las Vegas).
Basens resides in Victor, NY.
About del Lago Resort & Casino
The $440 million 205-room hotel, spa and casino will include a banquet facility, several restaurants, lounges, 2,500 person entertainment center and other world-class amenities. Del Lago Resort & Casino will feature Savor New York, a unique retail outlet where local vendors will bring the Finger Lakes region directly to del Lago patrons with a wide variety of local fruits, cheeses, baked goods, wines and beers, and other area specialties. The casino will feature 2,000 slot machines and 85 gaming tables, including 10 poker tables. Del Lago will create 1,800 construction jobs and 1,800 permanent jobs, and will generate more than $90 million annually for New York state and local governments. The resort and casino was awarded a New York State casino license in December 2015 and will open to the public in February 2017. For more information, visit www.delLagoResort.com.
