Lyle Berman is a legend in the casino industry. His first taste of gaming came as a poker player where he gleaned bits and pieces of information about casinos. When an opportunity was presented to get in on the ground floor of tribal government gaming, he jumped at it and the rest is history. Berman’s Grand Casinos became the largest operator of tribal casinos in Minnesota, and later in other states. In Mississippi, Grand Casinos had commercial gaming properties in Gulfport, Biloxi and Tunica. A few years after Berman sold his company to then-Bally Entertainment, now Caesars, he launched Lakes Entertainment, another tribal gaming operator that he recently sold to Golden Gaming. He spoke with GGB Publisher Roger Gros at his building in Las Vegas in March.
