Los Angeles Business Journal: Tribal casinos hedging bets with research on resorts

THOUGH he's no professional gambler, tribal casinos are keeping Mark Dvorchak very busy.

Recently promoted to partner at Economic Research Associates' recreation and real estate practice group, Dvorchak analyzes market data to help theme parks, water parks, sports stadiums, golf courses, convention centers and casinos assess the chances of success at a particular location.

"The gaming industry is a very important client right now," said Dvorchak. "And it's been very interesting because gaming is becoming less important in the overall equation."

The casinos are growing into Las Vegas-style resorts, he said, and while Native Americans are driving much of that business, a lot of other entertainment industries are coming into the playing field, such as high-end hotels, spas, shopping centers, golf courses and restaurants.

"It's a very profitable market and a market that can afford a lot of growth," he said.

Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Oakland are seeing the bulk of the growth for the full-fledged resorts, he said.

To quality as a prime location for a resort, sites must have room for future expansion while remaining within an hour's drive of urban markets. The tribal casinos need to be housed on Native American reservations, he said, but complications can arise when tribes without property seek to buy land with casinos in mind.

Dvorchak said one of his favorite projects was for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He was asked to estimate how popular a trip to space might be in 50 years. "We looked at what's happened historically with different high-end expenses and tourism expectations," he said.

Dvorchak graduated from the University of Illinois. Champaign-Urbana, in 1987 with a degree in computer science and received his MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA in 1994. After school, he worked with iWorks Entertainment until 1996 when he left to work individually. He joined ERA in 1998.

Dvorchak lives in Hermosa Beach with his wife and two children, which whom he spends most of his free time.