Management

Blake L. Sartini is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Golden Gaming, Inc. Mr. Sartini formed the company in October of 2001, following his purchase of Southwest Gaming Services, Inc. Today, Golden Gaming has established itself as one of the fastest growing, most innovative and respected gaming and entertainment companies in the U.S. Prior to establishing Golden Gaming, Inc.

Mr. Sartini served as executive vice president, chief operating officer and director of Station Casinos, Inc. During his 15 year tenure with Station Casinos, Mr. Sartini held various management positions and served in numerous senior executive roles. Mr. Sartini was instrumental in overseeing Station’s explosive growth from one local casino with approximately 2,000 team members, to eight regional casinos with approximately 12,000 team members.

Mr. Sartini co-founded Southwest Gaming Services, Inc. in 1985. The company was evolved into a slot route operation in the early 1990s where Mr. Sartini served as President. Today, in addition to his gaming interests, Mr. Sartini is a founder, board member and largest shareholder of Nevada’s largest start up bank -– Service First Bank of Nevada. Service First Bank was initially capitalized with $50 Million in assets and represents the largest start up bank in Nevada’s history. Service First Bank was opened for business in January of 2007.

Mr. Sartini earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Prior to joining Golden Gaming as VP of Operations, Todd Parmelee served as Tavern Manager for Golden Tavern Group in 2004 and 2005. From 2005 until rejoining Golden Gaming he held the position of Director of Beverage for the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. He brings with him extensive knowledge having previously held positions as General Manager of nightclubs and restaurants in Washington, D.C., Seattle and Las Vegas. Todd earned a degree in Travel and Tourism Management/Marketing from Finger Lakes College in Canandaigua, NY.

As Director of Operations, Todd oversees all operations for our Las Vegas and Reno locations.

Prior to joining Golden Gaming, Kim Ast was part of the marketing team at Palace Station Hotel & Casino for two years and special events marketing manager for the Silverton Casino Hotel Lodge for nine years. Kim is a native of Las Vegas, Nevada.

As Director of Advertising and Creative Marketing, Kim drives the concept development and design for all Golden Gaming affiliates as well as taverns managed under Golden Tavern Group, Nevada’s largest tavern operator. Kim ensures that advertising and creative needs of the company are being met by overseeing the execution of all creative materials, communicating effectively with creative and advertising team members and being involved in all design stages from initial concepts to the completion of a finished product.

Prior to being named Director of Advertising and Creative Marketing, Kim served as marketing manager for Golden Gaming since 2005.

 
Christopher Porter is the Director of Interactive Marketing for Golden Gaming, Inc. He oversees the marketing, advertising, brand development, public relations, and corporate partnerships for PT's Entertainment Group, Golden Route Operations, and GGI. In addition, Porter is responsible for the development and expansion of GGI’s interactive gaming initiative.
 
Prior to joining the company, Porter consulted for some of the largest online gaming companies in the world helping develop effective marketing campaigns. Porter has a proven track record in negotiating sponsorships, planning and executing gaming promotions, building strategic alliances, launching social media campaigns, guiding public relations activity, and overall performance. He is an experienced marketing leader with an in-depth knowledge of the online gaming space.
 
Porter earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing degree from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona.
 

Jeff Martin is Director of Marketing for Golden Gaming, Inc.’s Nevada tavern division, PT’s Entertainment Group (PTEG). Martin oversees the marketing and research operations for PTEG consisting of 40 taverns in Northern and Southern Nevada.
 
Prior to working with Golden Gaming, Martin served as Director of Marketing for Tropicana Entertainment in Laughlin, Nevada andhttp://ptstaverns.com/sites/all/libraries/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/them...);" name="_GoBack"> as Corporate Director of Marketing Analytics for seven regional properties for Pinnacle Entertainment in Las Vegas.
 
From June of 2001 to December of 2007, Martin held several management positions with Station Casinos, Inc. including Corporate Slot Analyst, Corporate Relationship Marketing Analyst, Corporate Operations Manager, and Director of Marketing.
 
Martin received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Otterbein College in Columbus, Ohio.

Jimmy Wadhams is northern Nevada operations manager for Golden Gaming, Inc. He joined the company in 2007 and is responsible for overseeing the company’s wholly-owned tavern operations as well as all third-party route partnerships in northern Nevada.
 
Based in Reno, Nev., Wadhams’ responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day business of Golden Tavern Group’s northern Nevada taverns, including Sierra Gold, Sparky’s & Sierra Junction taverns in Reno, as well as Goldie’s and Sparky’s taverns in Fernley and Sparks, Nev., respectively. Wadhams will also direct the company’s northern Nevada Golden Route Operations, managing gaming for 34 current third-party route partners, as well as assisting in developing potential business opportunities, growing Golden Gaming’s route footprint throughout northern Nevada.
 
Prior to this position, Wadhams was a regional operations manager for Golden Tavern Group. There he was responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations for seven PT’s tavern locations throughout the Las Vegas valley. Before serving as a regional operations manager, Wadhams was one of the first managers to enter the company’s two-year management development program. He has served as an operations analyst, collections manager for Golden Route Operations and executive operations manager for Golden Casino Group, the company’s casino operations in Black Hawk, Colo.
 
In his spare time, Wadhams enjoys hunting, fishing, skiing and watching television.
 
Wadhams received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Nevada, Reno.