I’m a publisher, entrepreneur and community builder passionate about creating meaningful experiences across media, hospitality, and lifestyle.

As Publisher of IS Luxury Magazine, I lead one of the region’s premier platforms for luxury real estate and lifestyle storytelling, connecting discerning audiences with the people, properties, and brands shaping modern luxury living in Las Vegas and the Southern California coast.

Beyond publishing, I’ve built ventures that reflect my belief in design, wellness, and discovery:

* Owner of LASHiX Med Spa — where beauty and self-care meet precision and artistry, specializing in lash extensions, brow lamination and skincare.

* Co-owner of Discover IT Yourself — a bespoke outdoor adventure brand in Las Vegas offering curated experiences that reconnect people with nature and exploration.

* Partnering with Chef Brian Howard on an upcoming restaurant concept blending culinary innovation with Las Vegas’s creative pulse.

* President of the Philadelphia Nonprofit Advertising Agency (Vegas Chapter) — supporting causes that uplift communities through storytelling and outreach.

At the heart of everything I do is a simple philosophy: elevate every experience — whether it’s a brand campaign, a hospitality venture, or a community initiative.

Jamal Parker

Resorts World Las Vegas

Senior Advisor

Dubuque Bank and Trust

Dubuque Bank and Trust Company is a bank headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa, and a subsidiary of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (NYSE: HTLF), a bank holding company.

Board Member

OUR MISSION
Through its gaming and entertainment facilities, The DRA provides for social, economic and community advancement and lessens the burden of City of Dubuque and area government, while contributing to the growth and vitality of Dubuque area tourism.

ABOUT US
Founded in 1985, the DRA is a non-profit organization in Dubuque, Iowa, led by a professional 
staff and a volunteer board of 21 directors. Originally, our focus was on greyhound racing, which sparked economic development in the region. Years later, gaming and entertainment were added to co-exist with the greyhounds. 

Today, we hold the license for casino-gaming operations of Q Casino, and we are the co-licensee and Qualified Sponsoring Organization (QSO) for the Diamond Jo Casino, which is owned by Boyd Gaming. 
The DRA has made over $1 billion in economic impact since its inception. 

WE ARE DIFFERENT
The DRA is unique — we are one of only two gaming organizations in the country established and run for the benefit of a local government entity. Since our founding, we have contributed more than $244 million back to the City of Dubuque. 

Our business model is simple. We distribute 100% of our winnings after expenses, which includes the 4.5% of adjusted gross receipts we receive monthly from the Diamond Jo Casino. One-third of the money goes to area charities, one-third goes to the City of Dubuque, and one-third will now go toward the efforts to develop and enhance amenities on the city-owned Schmitt Island. Simply  — this money supports organizations and projects that have a direct impact on improving the lives of people in the Dubuque area!

Chief Executive Officer

PureStar

PureStar, a Cornell Capital portfolio company, is North America’s foremost provider of laundry services and linen management to the hospitality industry.

Appointed by Cornell Capital to lead the transition from a 3rd-generation, family-owned business to a more mature, fully operationalized business, serving over 1,000 client partners ranging from 7,000-key resorts to 200-room boutique hotels, spas, restaurants, fitness centers, and private clubs throughout North America.

Led growth in margins and market share across this highly competitive industry, while steering complex sales and manufacturing cycles through the financial crisis, COVID pandemic, and geopolitical challenges. Guided the acquisition and leadership of over 100 customers – and 11 out of the largest 20 hotels in the U.S. – providing service to all of the Las Vegas hospitality market across 160K hotel rooms including Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts, Red Rock Resorts, Wynn Las Vegas, and Waldorf Astoria.

President, West Region

MGM Resorts International

Provided strategic governance for Circus Circus, leading all aspects of the business at scale for the 11th largest hotel and resort in the US – boasting 3,700+ hotel rooms and ~100 acres of a Casino, Theme Park, RV Park, Adventuredome, and Midway. Oversaw Finance, IT, Security, HR, Retail, Marketing, Sales, Facilities, Surveillance, and Service. 

Successfully got business sold for MGM Resorts for $825M to Phil Ruffin.

President and Chief Operating Officer, Circus Circus Hotel & Casino

Built a $960M development designed to ignite an urban revival – and hyper-scaled it from 6 to 3,000 employees. Led all business operations while creating the playbook for opening casinos with MGM resorts – while establishing strong relationships across the community, local businesses, and state regulators.
Expanded significant EBITDA margin via revenue growth, labor right-sizing, disciplined marketing reinvestment, controllable expense reduction, and employee executive leadership.

Grew an integrated 14-acre downtown resort encompassing a 252-room boutique hotel, 2,500 slots, 93 tables, 23 poker tables, 8 screen cinema, 10 lane bowling alley, Top Golf Swing Suite, 3 full-scale restaurants, 6 outlet marketplace experience, an 8,000-seat arena and a 100,000 sq. ft. MassMutual Center.

General Manager, MGM Springfield

Caesars Entertainment Corporation

Established and scaled the $442M Horseshoe Baltimore Casino from 2 to 2200 employees while providing strategic operations oversight for the downtown facility encompassing 2,200 slots, 150 tables, 25 poker tables, 4 full-scale restaurants, and a 6-outlet marketplace experience. Represented Horseshoe with Baltimore City officials and Maryland Lottery Gaming Commission.

VP & Assistant General Manager Horseshoe Baltimore

Served as inaugural Chief of Staff / Executive Associate to the President of Shared Services, responsible for the functional strategy of the business.

Vice President and Executive Associate

Led a strategic $400M restructuring and reorganization of Caesars Entertainment through change management and centralizing to reduce costs and safeguard the business. Worked with Board, CEO, CFO and Private Equity, preparing senior leaders for briefings. Then supported establishing and scaling developments across Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore, and Boston. Oversaw 50+ Bain and Global Resources consultants and 34 internal teams staffed with 250+ senior leaders that were organized to lead change throughout the enterprise.

Served as the primary clearinghouse for implementation among; Finance (tax, accounting and audit), HR (compensation and talent management), Legal (regulatory compliance), Communications, Facilities Management, Operations and IT. (Program Management Office)

Director, Enterprise Effectiveness

Served as a Director in the Planning and Analysis group at Harrah’s Entertainment in Las Vegas, performing strategic planning and financial analysis including new business cost, deal profitability and cost reduction analyses. Developed the fully integrated cash flow model for the acquisition and management of Planet Hollywood Casino & Resort and associated debt. 

Developed the pro forma staffing and allocation model for Caesars Entertainments' management of PH Towers by Westgate, leveraging significant food and beverage development experience via the Sugar Factory Restaurant and Chateau Nightclub, the SEA Thai Restaurant and Evening Call Daquiri Bar.

Director, Planning & Analysis

Silver Pacific Advisors

Provided investment banking services to mid-market clients within the gaming, entertainment and real estate development industries. Also, led the operational and financial due diligence efforts in coordination with the management team of a privately held gaming operator in the proposed acquisition of a 1,500+ room hotel & casino and 1,400 slot riverboat casino. 

Prepared confidential investment and offering memoranda, procured highly confident letters and financing term sheets from bulge bracket investment banks, private equity and hedge funds in association with several pending gaming development projects within Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, and Kansas City, Kansas.

Associate

Goldman Sachs

Performed full M&A valuation analysis including comparable trading and transaction multiples, discounted cash flow and multiple merger scenarios. Advised on notable transactions including Disney’s $7.4B acquisition of Pixar; Exxon Mobil / Qatar Petroleum on RasGas’ $2.3B bond financing; Cendant Corporation in the $638M IPO of Jackson Hewitt; and Caxton-Iseman in its $142M sell down of its stake in Anteon via block trade.

Developed a financial model analyzing various earnout structures proposed by a strategic buyer in the course of a sell-side engagement. Prepared and coordinated IPO roadshow marketing materials and assisted in the drafting of the S-1 (investment prospectus). Also served as a key investment banking analyst across Equity Capital Markets executing transactions across Consumer/Retail, Technology, Financial Institutions, and Energy industries.

Analyst, Investment Banking Division

J.P. Morgan

Held a summer internship with Lab Morgan, JP Morgan's e-finance venture incubator.

Analyst, Internal Consulting Services

As a strategic CEO, Board Member, and former Investment Banker, I provide 20 years of executive leadership across M&A, business restructuring, and hospitality development across iconic and Fortune 500 businesses – including MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, and Goldman Sachs.

President and CEO of the Q Casino and DRA, I lead this 501c4 and one of two non-profit casinos in the U.S. in distributing its net income equally among the City of Dubuque, local charities and Schmitt Island development – contributing to over $1B in economic impact since its inception. Starting my career at Goldman Sachs, I worked on the $638M IPO of Jackson Hewitt and Disney’s $7.5B Pixar acquisition. 

After investment banking, my career pivoted toward hyper-scaling, transforming, and contributing to high growth among top gaming industry leaders – MGM and Caesars, employing innovative strategies to build high performing organizations, grow revenue and drive efficiencies. In 2019, I was brought in as President & COO of MGM’s Circus Circus to provide strategic and financial governance while shepherding the sale of the 11th largest hotel and resort in North America. Earlier as GM, I led the opening of Springfield Casino and scaled it to a $960M resort. At Caesars, I established and scaled the $442M Horseshoe Baltimore Casino.

In addition to my executive leadership career, I serve as Board Member for Dubuque Bank & Trust, a subsidiary of the $20B public bank holding company, Heartland Financial USA, Inc. I also serve as Advisory Board Member of Mogul Hospitality.

Passionate about community and civic service, I volunteer extensively in wide-ranging organizations. Tapped by Nevada Governor Sisolak, I serve on The Nevada COVID-19 Response, Relief & Recovery Task Force. I also serve as Co-Chair of African-Americans in Gaming, Vice-Chair of Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, former Chair-Elect of the Vegas Chamber, Board Member of the International Center for Responsible Gaming, the YPO Iowa, and Board Member of MedStar Harbor Hospital. 

Known as an influential strategist, I bring a unique and diverse perspective across industries and  business models spanning New York, London, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and the East Coast, driving clarity of purpose and experienced insights from the boardroom to ground operations. Now I reside in Dubuque, Iowa, with my wife Yindra Dixon and as proud father of Alex Jr. and twins, Parker and Peyton.

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The Battle

Jamal Parker

Alex Dixon

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