"Making difficult on-the- job decisions is not anything new for him. He made tougher calls while flying 160 combat missions as a command pilot over Viet Nam and Southeast Asia. Meeting Major General Paul A. Harvey (USAF Ret.) for the first time, one would never guess that this quiet gentleman put in 5,000 flying hours, many of them under deep duress.

In all General Harvey spent 32 years on active duty for his country and held numerous command positions in the U.S., Europe, Africa and the Middle East before serving as the commander for Keesler Air Force Base, retiring in 1991.

That experience helped in his appointment as Executive Director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission from 1993 to 1998. That, plus many years in various executive corporate positions, all serve him and the Mississippi Band of Choctaws well, where as President and Chief Executive Officer, he is now making decisions to take Pearl River Resort through the difficult economic downturn that has had a significant negative affect on the gaming industry.

"It is not just about managing and directing a large operation with two casinos and hotels, and all the wonderful amenities this resort offers, but different in that we must help sustain the 10,000 member Tribe and distributions to its members. " he said. 'At the end of the day, the Choctaws make up 36 percent of the large work force here and keeping our operation viable and profitable helps insure those positions."

One of the first tough steps that had to be implemented was the downsizing the work force and closing the high-end Golden Moon casino and hotel during the week from Sunday nights to Friday noon.

"The challenge when we made this decision was the "management of people," said Gen. Harvey. "Now, months later, maintaining our operation and planning for the upturn occupies our time."

An outside observer might take all the changes at Pearl River Resort to mean it was in trouble but the opposite is quite true. "Actually we are doing quite well as a regional market, "said the General. The Choctaws, under Miko Beasley Denson, state unequivocally that the total operation is the most profitable among Mississippi's 30 casinos."

Get the Story:
Heard it on the River by Rudi Schiffer: Choctaw spirit and leadership bode well for Pearl River (Casino City Times 10/13)