recreational pot became legal<\/a> in Nevada in July.<\/p>\nWhere’s the Synergy?<\/h2>\n
Given the minimal information shared about Smith’s rather grand industry leap, we can only guess what the appeal of such a move might be for him. But after all,\u00a0MGM, like Starbucks, is an international company worth billions of dollars. The gaming operator generated $9.5 billion in revenue in 2016, a six percent increase over the year prior 2015.<\/p>\n
Smith says he likes where the business is headed and said he will handle many of the same duties he did with Starbucks (whatever those may have been, as it’s also not specified, except for the “digital” part).<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a large company with tremendous performance, but we think there is a ton of potential to unlock by laying down a strategic digital plan and executing on that plan in a world-class way,\u201d he told GeekWire<\/em>.<\/p>\nAs MGM continues its international expansion, with new casinos opening in China this year and more in the coming years around the world, Smith is considered a good fit for this role. He gained international expansion experience while working for Starbucks in China, where he recruited and led project management, design, and engineering teams.<\/strong><\/p>\nPrior to joining Starbucks, he founded and then sold three Seattle-based startups: RocketVox, ImageKind, and Zapd. He has extensive experience in digital technology, and that’s what MGM was looking for in a candidate.<\/p>\n
MGM is looking at expansion in Asia, with an eye towards opening their next Cotai Strip<\/a> property later this year in China’s Macau, as well as landing a much-coveted Japanese casino license once that country zeroes in on its regulatory finalities.<\/p>\nToo bad neither are coffee-drinking countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seattle’s Kelly Smith, former entrepreneur and Starbucks digital global expansion honcho, is now officially a has-bean. Instead, Smith will be taking his knowledge of the digital realm into the gaming world, becoming senior vp and chief digital officer for casino operator MGM Resorts International. Smith will be tasked with developing digital technologies to make guests […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":58199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Starbucks Digital VP Kelly Smith Perks Up for Parallel MGM Opportunity<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n