Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel Announces the Promotion of Two Chitimacha Tribal Members

Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel CEO and General Manager, Mike Howard, announced today that two members of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana have been promoted to executive roles. Richard Picard will assume his role as Director of Public Relations and Advertising and Bruce Burgess as Chief Financial Officer.

Both are Louisiana natives and have been involved in casino operations for a number of years.

Picard brings over ten years of experience in marketing and related fields with him into his new role. Picard attended University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana State University, and then Kaplan University where he received his bachelor’s degree in business administration concentrating in sales and marketing management. He is currently completing graduate-level coursework at LSU Shreveport in casino and hospitality management. Picard has held various positions in the gaming, non-profit, and media industries. Most recently, Picard launched the successful “fun and friendly” advertising campaign at Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel and worked to establish the company as South Louisiana’s premier entertainment destination.

Burgess joined Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel in December 2015. Burgess is responsible for accounting, cage, shipping and receiving, and gift shop departments. Most recently, he was the district manager at Total Safety US Inc. and has previously held various other financial and operational leadership roles with Total Safety, Custom Compression Systems and American Warrior. Burgess received his MBA and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in Louisiana.

“The Tribe and Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel is lucky to have the extraordinary talent of both of these individuals,” said Mike Howard, CEO and General Manager at Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel. “We are committed to developing Tribal members to become new leaders of the organization,” continued Howard.

Picard and Burgess will assume their new roles immediately.