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Located on the San Manuel Reservation in San Bernardino, California, Yaamava’ Resort & Casino is a leading destination featuring a 17-floor hotel, a full-service spa and salon, a state-of-the-art theater, and a casino with the most slots in the western United States. While the resort’s luxurious offerings attract millions each year, its underlying values, culture, and commitments are what make its leaders eager to work for them. Michael Ganton is one of them.
After working on projects for Caesars Palace, Hakkasan Group, MGM Grand, and Luxor, he came to Yaamava’ to serve as vice president of facilities and environmental services. As someone with a passion for the outdoors, history, and sustainability, the opportunity to work for the company, which is owned by San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, was one he couldn’t pass up.
“The culture at Yaamava’ really connected with me because the Tribe has been about sustainability for thousands of years,” says Ganton, who oversees horticulture, facilities and environmental services for the property, works with the design and construction team, and is responsible for 1.5 million square feet of casino, resort, and outdoor/landscape space. “It’s really rewarding and important for me to be a part of that and to contribute to that mission.”
Ganton and his team play an integral role in helping Yaamava’ continue along its sustainability journey, especially in the new development and design process.
“When you have facilities involved, you can take a look at energy, capital, and hours of work that will be needed to reach sustainability goals and to make sure what we build lasts for several years. We can look at critical points of failure, redundancies, sustainability finishes, and future budgets that will adequately maintain the facility.”
Out of those considerations have come innovative sustainability practices. As a more effective and environmentally friendly alternative to mechanical equipment or herbicides, the team uses Nubian goats to help fuel mitigation in areas that surround the resort.
As far as energy management goes, the team is in the process of adding individual electricity and chilled water data measuring points to all large HVAC units in order to improve visibility and efficiency. Additionally, the team has turned to automated scrubbers and vacuum cleaners, so team members can focus on more detailed work or preventative maintenance.
In addition to ensuring the functionality, comfort, safety, and efficiency of the resort with those innovative solutions, Ganton’s team is also focused on looking ahead at ways to navigate the evolving landscape of technology and greenspace practices. While most organizations are planning for the end of the quarter, Ganton and his team have created a seven-year operational and capital expense plan.
The leader says the plan, which was made in collaboration with colleagues from other parts of the organization, will help “constantly push the boundary of what we’re doing here.”
“The plan looks at what’s coming down the road, what we’re expecting, how we sustain, and how do we keep that forward-thinking approach in order to push the envelope while controlling costs,” he says. “I believe that you can do you the right thing by operating sustainability and then be rewarded by improving your financials.”
Ganton describes himself as a servant leader who believes in helping his team’s growth. He’s always willing to find them opportunities to grow, whether that be in another position or in a task force. His commitment to supporting his other colleagues at Yaamava’ is of equal importance to the leader.
“I believe that you can do you the right thing by operating sustainability and then be rewarded by improving your financials.”
Michael Ganton
“I pride myself on being collaborative, reaching out to other teams whether it’s the environmental teams, food and beverage, or entertainment and looking at what they need and how to support their operations,” he says.
Facilities work wasn’t always in the cards for Ganton. He started his career in Southern California in trades for residential projects. But with the help from great mentors, he moved into commercial work, which allowed him to work on projects in the Middle East and Las Vegas. He went on to become an engineering operations manager at MGM Grand, and director of facilities at Luxor. From there, he took on role of increasing responsibility at Caesars Entertainment and Hakkasan Group before coming to Yaamava’.
When he stepped into his role in 2022, he spent a lot of time in the field, getting to know his new colleagues and building relationships with stakeholders. Ganton thinks facilities leaders entering a new organization should do the same. They should focus on “understanding the facility you just took over.”
“Don’t just understand the restaurant, the slot machines, and the theaters. Understand the ebb and flow of those operations. You need a basic understanding of the needs of your internal and external guests,” Ganton says. “Then, you need to have open dialogue and communicate back and forth with the people you’re supporting. Collaborate on the needs and adapt with them. Continuously educate yourself on what’s happening out there.”
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