A few weeks ago, we were a sponsor at the San Manuel Golf Tournament.
I’ve never been to the event, but I know enough to understand it’s on another level. Yaamava’ Resort & Casino is massive — the kind of place that has the scale, resources, and reputation that makes even seasoned gaming professionals stop and take notice. On that day, executives from Yaamava’ and other top properties were all there — hosting, entertaining, and working a room full of VIPs.
My team and I couldn’t be there. We were in the middle of an installation that had everyone’s hands full. I figured we’d hear how it went later, maybe see a few photos float around.
Instead, our phones started lighting up.
Texts. Calls. Photos.
They were coming from both Yaamava’ executives and leaders from other casinos who were at the tournament. In the middle of one of the biggest events of their year, they took the time to reach out.
Think about that. These are people with zero spare time on a day like that. They had every reason to just move from conversation to conversation, check the boxes, and keep the event rolling. But they still carved out time to send gratitude our way.
That’s not normal. That’s not transactional. That’s a partnership.
It pulled me right back to our early days — before anyone knew who we were. We were a “startup” in an industry that didn’t exactly cheer for startups. Self-funded. Building a product that didn’t exist yet, in a model that wasn’t widely adopted. Plenty of people told us we wouldn’t make it. And maybe we shouldn’t have.
But we had our core values, a handful of cocktail-napkin ideas from those Tuesday “Think n Drink” sessions, and the stubbornness to keep going when everyone else thought we’d tap out. The first properties that took a chance on us weren’t just buying software — they were betting on us.
Fast forward to this month, and we’re getting texts and calls from some of the top people in the industry, thanking us in the middle of their own big day. That’s the full-circle moment.
Our foundation has always been the same — mutual respect, accountability, and innovation. We respect the hell out of what our partners do, and they know we’ll show up for them every single time. We’ve stood shoulder to shoulder through the wins, the setbacks, and the “how do we fix this before morning?” moments. And SlotTrak is living proof of what happens when the right people work together toward something better.
Sponsoring the golf tournament was something we were proud of. The calls and messages from the busiest people in the room? That was the bonus that made it all feel even more worthwhile.
That’s the good stuff. That’s the fuel.
Juan