Elevating Table Games at Choctaw: From Real-Time Yielding to Enterprise Impact

In a recent TG&H On Air conversation, James Gutierrez, Senior Director of Table Games for Choctaw Casinos & Resorts, sat down with Chris Faria to discuss how his team is advancing table games operations through data-driven decision making powered by Tangam Systems.

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is one of the largest casino operators in the United States, with approximately 12,000 slot machines and 150 table games across its portfolio. The organization maintains a strong focus on elevating the guest experience while driving operational consistency and performance across properties.

Gutierrez, who oversees table games operations across five resorts, is focused on elevating performance across the enterprise through greater precision and consistency in how games are managed.

To support this, his team has adopted table games yield management capabilities within the casino performance platform from Tangam Systems, enabling a more complete view of performance across the floor.

Rather than relying on static assumptions, the team incorporates demand patterns, table activity, and overall floor dynamics into daily decision-making. Within table games, this translates into more informed adjustments to pricing and table availability, helping teams stay aligned with actual conditions while maintaining a coordinated approach to managing demand, staffing, and game availability.

For Choctaw, the objective was to move beyond traditional pricing methods and introduce a more precise, responsive model aligned to actual guest behavior.

As Gutierrez explained, “we’ve always had those traditional methods of how we price tables. I wanted to get a little bit more granular on how we can price these games for our guests appropriately, making sure that the right price point is there for the right players any day of the week.”

With this approach in place, pricing decisions are now aligned more closely to real-time play, allowing limits to adjust based on demand while maintaining a balanced and consistent guest experience. Across the industry, operators leveraging similar models are able to respond to demand changes up to four times more frequently and up to eight times faster, often supporting EBITDA improvements in the range of 5% to 15%.

Equally important is the impact on the team.

With clear, structured recommendations and modeled financial outcomes, decision-making is more consistent and actionable. “The biggest impact that I’ve seen is they’re more engaged in the action now than they were in the past,” Gutierrez noted, highlighting the increased focus on observing play and aligning decisions with real-time conditions.

From a guest perspective, the transition has been designed to be seamless.

Choctaw has implemented fair grandfathering policies for table minimums to ensure that existing players are not impacted by pricing adjustments, while still allowing the operation to manage demand effectively. This approach can also improve access to tables during peak periods, supporting both player experience and revenue objectives.

The investment in technology and team development has also created benefits at the leadership level. With a consistent system in place to guide pricing and align with strategic goals, Gutierrez and his team are able to focus more time on broader initiatives and reinvestment across the business.

For example, Choctaw has recently made enhancements at the Durant property, including a significant pit reconfiguration, expanded baccarat offerings, updated ticket-in, ticket-out capabilities, and an improved layout designed to enhance both player comfort and operational flow. The organization has also introduced one of the largest non-smoking gaming areas in the country, reflecting evolving guest preferences and strengthening the overall experience.

Looking ahead, the focus remains on continuing to elevate table games through a combination of operational discipline, technology, and ongoing investment.

In this context, real-time yielding is not the end objective, but a foundational capability within a broader platform that enables better decisions, stronger teams, and a more consistent and elevated guest experience.

To learn more about how operators are improving table games performance through operational efficiency, read more here.

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This article was originally published by Tribal Gaming and Hospitality Magazine and can be accessed here.