NICE, Calif. — A member of Robinson Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians who got her start at the tribe’s casino has been named the casino’s general manager, a milestone for the business.

Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino announced that Elizabeth Anderson Nix is its new general manager, the first member of the tribe and the first woman to hold the role.

“I am extremely honored and humbled to accept the leadership role of general manager,” Nix said.

For over 30 years, Nix has been a noteworthy tribal leader in the gaming industry.

She is an enrolled tribal member of the Robinson Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians and began her career at Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino as a blackjack dealer in 1993.

By 2005, she became the table games manager and would remain in that role for six years before taking positions at Running Creek in Lake County and Graton Resort Casino in Sonoma County.

After four years of working in other resort properties, Nix returned home to Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino as the director of table games in 2015.

She continued her climb to the top of the leadership hierarchy and became the director of gaming operations in 2018 before being recently promoted to general manager.

In its announcement on her hire, the casino’s leadership said Nix’s table games expertise allowed Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino to maintain its dominant position as Lake County’s premier casino in California.

Under her direction, a new smoking slot lounge has been added to the bingo room to provide another environment for players who smoke.

The smoking room is less than 10% of the total gaming space at the casino resort, which allows it to provide clean air for the nonsmokers without any interference, the casino’s announcement explained.

“As a tribal member of the Robinson Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians it’s incredibly important to me as a stakeholder, but also as a leader, to step up and help lead this organization in a direction that will provide long-term viability and sustain economic development for our tribe,” said Nix.