California dreaming… became reality thanks to the support from some special people in Gevgelija and the cooperative spirit of the government officials.
Nicolas Balagiannis
Nicolas Balagiannis arrived in Australia in 1965 a dream of a better life. Thirty two years later in December 1997, Nicolas agreed to sell the assets of his company Olympic Amusements Pty Limited for the disclosed sum of 140 million to International Game Technology (“IGT”), the world’s largest gaming machine manufacturer
In 1981 Nicolas co-founded Olympic Amusements Pty Limited ("Olympic") in Victoria, Australia. He saw the potential in the gaming industry and in 1985 secured a gaming license in New South Wales, which is considered one of the world's most highly regulated gaming jurisdictions
In 1996 Nicolas won the National Australia Bank Ethnic Business Award judged on creativity and innovation in business, growth potential, research and development activity and employment opportunities. Nicolas had successfully blended these elements to create the success enjoyed by Olympic.
At the time of the sale to IGT, Olympic was recognized as the leader in the NSW hotel gaming machine market and the second largest supplier of gaming machines in Australia. Olympic was licensed and had offices in all gaming jurisdictions in Australia and Papua New Guinea with approximately 260 full time staff. Nicolas has been recognized by the Club Managers Association of NSW, and was awarded in 1996 a prestigious Life Membership and entry into the Hall of Fame for his services to the gaming industry
Since the sale of the Olympic business, Nicolas has turned his focus to the operation of eight hotels in New South Wales and South Australia and a casino on the island of Syros in Greece. He also has major investments in listed gaming companies, such as Aristocrat Leisure Limited and is always on the lookout for investment opportunities
Community and Charity Gaming
In 2003 Mr. Balagiannis co-founded Pick-n-Win Pty Limited to develop and operate gaming devices, commonly known as video lottery terminals, for the principal purpose of raising funds for charities and community groups. Pick-n-Win currently operates these devices for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Australia, in Western Australia and is in the process of trialing these devices in New Zealand.
Charity
In 2006, the Nicolas Balagiannis Foundation was established to consolidate Mr. Balagiannis’ donations and support to various organizations. The Australian Government has endorsed the Foundation as a Tax Concession Charity. The organizations recently supported include:
- The Curran Foundation, St Vincent’s Hospital
- Common Ground, South Australia, providing housing for homeless
- World Vision Australia
- Red Cross Australia
- Ted Noffs Foundation, assisting young children and their families with drug and alcohol issues
- Modern Greek, School of Humanities, Flinders University, South Australia
Awards, Certificates, Memberships
Mr. Balagiannis has been recognized in Australia for his achievements in the industry and non-industry sectors. Among these recognitions he has been honored by the Club Managers Association and has been awarded a prestigious Life Membership and entry into the Hall of Fame for his services in the gaming industry. Mr. Balagiannis has also achieved numerous business awards including the outstanding National Bank of Australia Ethnic Business Award in 1996 for manufacturing. Mr. Balagiannis is also active with many charities and community organizations in both Australia and overseas.
- "ETHNIC BUSINESS AWARDS 1996", is to certify that: Mr. Balagiannis is a state winner in Victorian/Tasmanian, in the Manufacturing Category. This award is recognition and honoring of migrants to Australian Business.
- "HALL OF FAME", is a certificate of induction into the Club Manager's Association of Australia.
- Balagiannis is a member of the "World Council of Hellenes Abroad" (SAE).
- Benefactor of the Australian committee of the restitution of the Parthenon marbles.
- A Certificate of Appreciation to Mr. Balagiannis from Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, for his contribution to the Hospital.
- An Award to his dedication and support to the people of Cyprus and Human Rights from Coordinating Committee of N.S.W. Justice for CYPRUS.
- A letter of Reference from Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria about his activities in Australia and Greece.
- A letter of Reference from Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NSW) Limited about his Business activities in Australia.
- An Award from RMIT a Great Australian University in recognition of his personal achievements and in appreciation of his support for the division Modern Greek Studies at RMIT.
- A Plaque from MACQUARIE University of Sydney for his invaluable contribution to the establishment of Greek Studies at Macquarie University.
- Mr. Balagiannis is a member of exclusive club of Australian Business, according to the special issue of yearly edition of magazine BRW Rich 200.
- An Award in 1999 from Ted Noffs Foundation for his contribution and generosity to the foundation.
Paul Steelman
Mr. Steelman is widely recognized as a visionary designer of entertainment, hospitality and gaming architecture, worldwide. The California Resort is his architectural design concept.
Paul started working as an architect in his father's architectural practice. Paul graduated from Clemson University in 1977 and started his pursuit of an architectural life. His first job involved designing several pieces of the first Atlantic City Casino, Resorts International. Paul then went to work for The City of Atlantic City in the Planning and Development Department. He met all of the famous casino architects and eventually took a job with Joel Bergman and Steve Wynn.
Paul worked for Joel Bergman for nine years designing many of the Mirage Resorts projects. He later opened his own practice in 1987, specializing in entertainment design. Paul has completed and constructed every type of casino project imaginable. Paul has worked with MGM, Mirage, Sheraton, Hyatt, Foxwoods, Swiss Casinos, Hard Rock, Caesars, Harrah's, Showboat, Silverton, Sun International, Crown, Macau Studio City, Sands, Venetian, Melco, Plaza, Waldorf Astoria, SDJM, Asian Coast Resorts, Fontainebleau and many others.
Steelman Partners is based in Las Vegas, NV, is an international architectural firm specializing in the multi-disciplinary facets of entertainment architecture, interior design, graphic design, and lighting. The company has satellite offices in Atlantic City, NJ, Hong Kong, Macau, China and Zhuhai, China
Michael Georgilas
The California Resort management team will be lead by Michael Georgilas, a seasoned executive serving the Gaming Industry since 1974 with extensive management experience and a Master's business degree in Hotel Administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Mr. Georgilas served his Alma Mater as instructor on Casino Operations & Marketing for graduate university students and Associate Director of the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Hospitality Research and Development Centre.
He held senior management positions as: Vice President of ITT Sheraton, Director of Development Worldwide for the ITT Corporation, Senior Vice President of Operations for the Europa Cruises Corporation, President of the Reno Flamingo Hilton, Director of Marketing for the Las Vegas Marina Hotel & Casino, General Manager for the Club Hotel Loutraki in Greece and Assistant Casino Manager for the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas.
Mr. Georgilas is the inventor and patent holder of the "Double Opportunity", a unique multiple-pull slot machine Application Number: 305950 Filing Date: 02/02/1989, Publication Date: 11/26/1991, researched the socioeconomic predictors of the Las Vegas Visitors and developed a formula (Y=A+B*X) which determines the market potential of an area and he authored: