Pechanga Resort Casino recently announced its new general manager, Brian Decorah. With nearly 25 years in the casino industry, all of it within tribal gaming establishments, Decorah brings a wide breadth of experience to his new role in Southern California at the west coast’s largest resort/casino.
Decorah comes to Pechanga most recently from a tribal casino outside of Seattle. He has served in executive level positions including general manager and CEO for resort/casinos in Washington, Wisconsin and Michigan, with other casino management roles at casinos in New York and Arizona. Brian looks forward to working with a team and a property at Pechanga he describes as “a leader in Indian country with an inspiring level of sophistication and a commitment to excellence.” Decorah is an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, making him the first Native person to hold this position at Pechanga Resort Casino.
Decorah first visited Pechanga Resort Casino in 2007 and returned again after the $300-million-dollar expansion in Spring of 2018, which added approximately 750 additional employment positions.
“A lot of us in the industry have watched Pechanga’s phenomenal growth from the outside. It has truly been inspiring to see Pechanga continually set and raise the bar for the industry,” Decorah said. “One of the things that most impressed me and made me want to be part of this team is that tribal leadership has managed to not only maintain, but strengthen the family-feel of the operation. As operations continue to expand, they can lose the intimate feeling of inclusiveness that comes with a close-knit business. Pechanga hasn’t lost that. They’ve enhanced it, which gets me most excited about being part of this team.”
“We are excited to have Brian join Pechanga Resort Casino,” said Jared Munoa, president of the Pechanga Development Corporation Board of Directors, which oversees the Pechanga Resort Casino. “He had the right experience, perspective and set of ideas that will help us to continue providing the best overall experience for our guests.”
Outside of his executive duties, he enjoys traveling with his 11-year-old son, as well as finding time to help coach his baseball and basketball teams. He stays active through working out and golf. He admits he didn’t have much in the way of luxuries growing up. Decorah says he looks for ways to give back to his community whenever he can, which recently included an idea made viral by friend and former Seattle Seahawk, Richard Sherman. Decorah paid off the student lunch bills before Christmas for all the kids on the free and reduced lunch program at the school he attended in Necedah, Wis. He also supports cancer fundraisers and charitable causes that assist gold star families from the special operations community in the military.