Vice President of Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Howard McAuliffe has 20 years of experience in operations and product management in the world of family entertainment. He began his career in 1996 when his family formed Pinnacle Entertainment Group Inc. Howard worked on the operations side of the company in various roles including route driver, merchandise manager, and ultimately Vice President. Pinnacle operations included a route with over 300 machines in Walmart and other accounts in the United States and Puerto Rico. In addition, Pinnacle operated as partners in two family entertainment centers in Puerto Rico. After years of buying products for Pinnacle machines, Howard started and expanded a wholesale merchandise distribution component to the business.

In 2007, after the bulk of the operations were sold, when Pinnacle Entertainment Group was merged into Redemption Plus, Howard pursued interests outside of the entertainment industry. Howard worked in real estate development in a for-profit capacity, as well serving as Executive Director of a community based nonprofit. This nonprofit built affordable housing, operated a social entrepreneurship venture, and other programs in St. Louis MO.

In 2010 Howard was offered an opportunity to join Redemption Plus. At Redemption Plus Howard managed the crane and merchandiser product lines and subsequently served as an Account Executive. In the crane and merchandiser management role Howard managed the supply chain, including sourcing in Asia all the way through the sales and marketing execution. Over the 3 years in this role the crane and merchandiser division experienced 50% revenue increases as well as 2% margin growth. As an Account Executive, Howard worked with strategic clients and earned an internal award for sales at the company.

In Spring 2016, Howard joined as partner and Vice President of Pinnacle Entertainment Group, LLC. The company continues to serve the industry as a consultant to family entertainment centers. In addition the company serves several leading suppliers, including Redemption Plus, as strategic clients.

Howard has served on various industry committees including the AAMA education committee as well as the FEC committee. In addition, he has spoken at Amusement Expo, as well as various operator and distributor trade shows. He also writes a bi-monthly column in Replay Magazine on industry trends, in addition to contributing to Manufacturers educational columns and Bowling Industry Magazine.