T-R PHOTO BY VANESSA ROUDABUSH Scott Sirois, the new general manager at the Meskwaki Casino, has been married to his wife Nola for 38 years, and they have three daughters. Sirois is an enrolled member of the Fond du Lac Band of Minnesota Chippewa Indians.

TAMA — On Sept. 6, the Meskwaki Nation’s Tribal Council selected Scott Sirois as General Manager of Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel, a property owned and operated by the Meskwaki Nation — Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa.

Sirois brings 40 years of gaming and management experience to his new position at Meskwaki Casino.

“My passion is in the developmental side of [the gaming industry],” he said.

Sirois began his career at 15 in the gaming industry during high school as a busboy with Boomtown Casino & Hotel in Reno, NV. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nevada with a major in Gaming Management and a minor in Economics. He then worked in Nevada, California, Arizona, and Louisiana before joining the Meskwaki Casino in Iowa.

Sirois recounts being drafted into the gaming industry.

“The Boomtown general manager called me into the office, he said, ‘Scott, we’re going to replace you with this guy.’ I said, ‘Exactly what does that mean for me?’ He said, ‘Oh, we’re moving you into the casino.’ I said, ‘I don’t want to work in the casino.’ He said, ‘That’s why we’re not asking. [But] once I was in the environment and went all in, it turned out I really enjoyed it,” he said.

Sirois took his first general management position at Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino in Nice, Calif. He helped with multiple remodels for six years and transitioned them into the modern gaming age.

Before and during the pandemic, Sirois worked on the largest casino in Louisiana with 2,800 machines, 900 rooms, a golf course, a water park, and a resort.

Sirois has a lot of success stories under his belt, and he hopes to continue that pattern here in Tama County.

“I’m most proud of the projects I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to. My greatest accomplishments were always developing and initiating new people into our business. That adrenaline they get from working in our type of environment,” he said. “Until you’re in it, you don’t know what it’s really like. One of the oldest sayings in our business is, ‘No two days are ever the same.’ That really sums up our industry.”

Sirois recounted one failure that still gets him laughing.

“The things that stick with you over time really aren’t the successes. It’s the things that went terribly wrong that you know you’ll never do again. One lesson I’ll never forget is not to do a balloon drop with money in the balloons. That was the epitome of chaos,” he said.

Because of Meskwaki’s history of success, Sirois doesn’t believe the transition will be too difficult.

“Meskwaki has a high degree of managerial intelligence and tenure. They know what they’re doing. My job is not to get in their way and do what I can to support what they’re doing,” he said. “They’ve been very successful long before I got here. It’s nice to sync in.”

Sirois has been at his post for almost a month and is growing fond of it already.

“What I like about working for Meskwaki and tribal relations (is) there’s a higher degree of satisfaction because I know where the money is going. It’s going to education, healthcare, eldercare, life safety, and the whole spectrum that makes a community,” he said. “Meskwaki has been very successful at that because of the gaming operation. I’m happy to have the opportunity to participate in their legacy of success.”

Sirois is delighted to be at Meskwaki Casino, and he’s excited to see where the job takes him in the months and years to come.

“It’s been really good. The people and community are really friendly. [I] feel like I have [Meskwaki’s] respect for doing what I do,” he said. “I am proud and humbled to be selected as General Manager by the Meskwaki Nation’s Tribal Council, and I feel very blessed with their decision.”