She comes home to the family casino business

When she left Carson City to go to

college on the East Coast, Jeannette

Kelley envisioned she'd work someday in

the corporate world overseeing high

finance or maybe even travel around the

world on international business.

But instead she finds herself working

in a modest upstairs office of the

Horseshoe Club casino back in her hometown

- and she couldn't be happier.

As vice president and part-owner,

Kelley is among a growing number of second-

and third-generation casino operators,

who combine college-trained business

acumen with instinct developed during

years of growing up in the gaming

industry.

Her father, Gene Chaney, opened the

Horseshoe Club in downtown Carson

City in 1973. Kelley remembers helping

stack nickels as a kid and learning how to

do basic bookkeeping. "I used to ride my

bike down here and have lunch with my

dad."

The casino roots go even deeper.

Kelley's grandfather owned a casino in the

late-'50s and '60s in Maryland, when

gambling was legal there.

Yet going into the gaming industry

didn't occur to Kelley when she planned

her career. She remembers a

college professor asking, "So,

are you going to be involved in

your dad's business?"

She told him she hadn't

really thought much about it.

After graduating with a business

degree from Virginia

Tech, Kelley worked for a bank

in Virginia as an internal auditor

and applied to work for the

CIA's employee credit union.

Meanwhile, she got married,

and during the lengthy process

of undergoing a background

check for the CIA, she and her

husband decided they wanted

to move to a place that would

be ideal for raising a family.

Their choice: Carson City.

That meant no career with

the CIA, of course, but Kelley

was glad to get back to

Nevada, where she had fond

childhood memories. She still

didn't plan to run the casino,

but her dad was trying to

retire. There were things to do

there, and she started helping

out.

"You

see

challenges

you can

help

with. Next thing you know,

you're running the place," she

says with laugh.

Chaney, who still owns part

of the business and continues

to keep his hand in as a consultant,

says he most enjoys

dealing with customers and

building slots. His daughter,

meanwhile, has a keen sense

for the financial and management

end of the business. She

worked as an apprentice under

a former manager. Then after

that employee retired, Chaney

gave her the reins. "She has

great leadership abilities," he

says.

"Another

good thing

about

Jeannette

is she has

compassion

for people."

Kelley is calm and soft-spoken,

pausing to carefully consider

questions and give

thoughtful answers. She is a

sharp contrast to the jingling

slot machines downstairs and

her own hectic schedule. She is

on call 24 hours a day with the

casino and with her three

small children, 4, 2, and 7

months. Although running the

business is more demanding

than most 9-to-5 jobs, she says

it provides much-needed flexibility,

which - along with a

supportive and hard-working

husband helps with juggling

a career and motherhood.

Kelley says she enjoys the

challenge of managing people,

accounting and customer service,

and she's glad she gets to

handle so many different

aspects of a business, an

opportunity she might have

missed in a corporate job.

"With a smaller business,

there's so much hands-on

work.We have to wear a lot of

hats. I do a little bit of everything"

The Horseshoe Club caters

to local residents. More than

90 percent of customers are

from the Carson City area.

Kelley says the key to success

is employing good people who

can help the business live up to

its motto of "friendliest casino

in town."

Kelley has always had a

strong drive. She excelled academically

in high school and

at sports, including track, ski

team and golf. She enjoys the

challenge of finding a better

way to do something, but she

gave up on perfectionism years

ago.

"I realized there was no

such thing as perfect.

Everybody has an idea of what

it is, and there's more than one

way to do things. If people

think they reach perfection, it

means they don't feel they can

improve. Perfect is too final.

Life is ongoing."

Success, she says, is a journey,

not a destination, and

she's enjoying the scenery

along the way.