Matt Mascali
CEO & Founder
Matt is a dynamic Food & Beverage Executive with an unparalleled track record of success in leading high-volume, multi-unit operations across top-performing hotels, resorts, and casino environments. His unique ability to combine strategic planning with hands-on leadership makes him the perfect person to create The Playbooks, a comprehensive digital manual designed to help F&B professionals optimize their operations and drive success.
Throughout his career, Matt has been recognized for consistently improving financial performance, elevating guest service standards, and building high-performing teams. His expertise includes full P&L management, labor optimization, and operational execution, essential skills for crafting a practical and results-driven resource like The Playbooks.
Matt’s leadership style centers on talent development and building a performance-driven culture rooted in hospitality and innovation. His deep knowledge of hospitality trends, combined with his ability to implement efficient processes, equips him to offer valuable insights and strategies that F&B leaders can immediately put into practice.
Known for his ability to conceptualize and develop successful F&B concepts, Matt has led new outlet openings, brand repositioning efforts, and Capex projects from start to finish. His practical experience managing fine dining, casual dining, QSR, and banquet venues makes The Playbooks an essential guide for anyone looking to elevate their F&B operations.
Matt’s expertise extends to managing Union/CBA labor environments and integrating advanced POS systems like Micros and Agilisys, as well as leveraging inventory management platforms such as Craftable and Stratton Warren. This hands-on knowledge translates directly into actionable content within The Playbooks, providing readers with the tools they need to streamline controls and maximize profitability.
With a commitment to delivering exceptional guest experiences and bottom-line results, Matt is not just sharing theoretical knowledge, he’s imparting proven strategies from years of hands-on experience. The Playbooks are an essential resource for F&B leaders aiming to thrive in today’s competitive hospitality landscape.
Advisors
Billy Orilio
Affiliate Consultant
William Orilio, widely known as Billy O, coined the phrase “Making the world a better place to eat, drink, stay, and play,” reflecting his lifelong commitment to elevating hospitality standards, operational integrity, and guest experience.
Billy O is the owner of Hospitality Consultants, a San Diego–based hospitality consulting and private investigation firm specializing in integrity, compliance, and operational accountability programs for hospitality and gaming organizations. With more than 40 years and 80,000+ hours of industry experience, he is highly respected for evaluating service standards and adherence to policy and procedure.
A licensed Private Investigator in California and Nevada, Billy O is certified to provide expert testimony and has appeared in 177+ cases involving regulatory compliance, labor disputes, fraud, alcohol service, and operational standards—without a single trial loss in over four decades. He joins The F&B Playbook as an Affiliate Consultant, bringing unmatched real-world expertise to operators and leaders.
Kim Tran Franchi
Kim Tran Advisor
Kim Tran Franchi is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist with over 16 years of experience in public health, regulatory oversight, and environmental compliance. Her work focuses on helping hospitality organizations operate safely, responsibly, and with confidence through practical, real-world application.
She spent much of her public-sector career with Northern Nevada Public Health as a Health Inspector and Sanitarian, later advancing to Environmental Health Supervisor for the county’s Vector-Borne Program. Known for balancing regulation with operational reality, Kim has also played a long-standing leadership role with the Nevada Food Safety Task Force.
Today, Kim leads her own Environmental Compliance Solutions business and supports operations at the Grand Sierra Resort, specializing in risk mitigation, staff training, and hands-on safety systems. She partners with The F&B Playbook as an advisor in environmental health and risk mitigation, helping operators turn compliance into a strategic advantage.
Kevin Ball
Kevin Advisor
Kevin Ball is Vice President of Procurement for Fontainebleau Las Vegas, a vertically integrated luxury hotel, gaming, and entertainment destination developed by Fontainebleau Development. A Certified Professional in Supply Management (C.P.S.M.), he leads procurement operations including sourcing, purchasing, and warehouse management, with a focus on supplier reliability, quality, efficiency, and cost control.
With more than 30 years of experience in logistics, supply chain management, and strategic sourcing, Mr. Ball previously served as Vice President of Procurement for Affinity Gaming and held senior leadership roles at Golden Entertainment and Wyndham Worldwide. He is also the founder of Pour Consulting, LLC.
Mr. Ball holds C.P.S.M. and Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) credentials and a degree in business management from Bloomsburg State University. He is actively involved in the Las Vegas community as Founder of the Las Vegas Procurement Leadership Council and President of the Epicurean Charitable Foundation.
Rick Giffen
Rick Advisor
Rick Giffen is a culinary and food & beverage executive with decades of experience leading high-volume hospitality operations across casinos, hotels, arenas, and large-scale entertainment venues. His career blends chef-driven creativity with disciplined execution, strong leadership systems, and guest-focused performance.
He has held senior leadership roles overseeing full casino food and beverage programs, chef-driven concepts, and multi-outlet operations serving tens of thousands of guests. Rick is often brought in to stabilize challenged operations, elevate culinary standards, and rebuild team culture while maintaining financial and operational control.
Currently, Rick serves as Executive Chef of Vic’s Las Vegas, where he leads culinary vision and execution standards. He also partners with The F&B Playbook as an advisor in culinary operations and leadership development, bringing real-world insight to help operators build scalable systems and stronger teams.
Joe Spellman
Advisor
Joe Spellman, CCM is a veteran food and beverage consultant with more than 25 years of executive leadership experience across private country clubs, destination resorts, city clubs, and high-end restaurant operations. His career has been built in high-expectation environments where financial performance, member satisfaction, and service standards must operate at elite levels simultaneously.
Joe specializes in transforming underperforming food and beverage programs into disciplined, profitable systems through financial turnaround strategy, P&L optimization, cost control, labor modeling, menu engineering, and pricing strategy. Known for his hands-on, operator-first approach, he works closely with ownership groups, boards, and senior leadership teams to diagnose root issues, implement practical systems, and reinforce standards that hold up under real-world service pressure.
He partners with The F&B Playbook as an advisor, contributing operational expertise and executive perspective to help shape standards-driven training systems for hospitality leaders.
Kent Vaughan
Kent Advisor
Kent Vaughan is a seasoned hospitality executive with more than 20 years of leadership experience in large-scale hotel and integrated resort operations. Over two decades, he guided a major property through four ownership transitions—serving as the only executive leader to remain across all four—while consistently improving revenue, guest experience, and team engagement during periods of significant change.
Most recently, Kent served as executive leader for hotel operations at a 1,990-room integrated resort generating approximately $100 million in annual revenue, overseeing 24/7 operations and leading 600–700 team members. His leadership blends disciplined operational systems with a people-first mindset, delivering results without sacrificing culture.
Kent is known for driving measurable improvements through leadership development, labor optimization, and technology integration. His initiatives include successful succession planning, post-pandemic labor realignment, improved guest service scores, major reductions in turnover, and significant cost savings through automation and self-service technology.
He currently partners with The F&B Playbook as an advisor for leadership and hotel operations, contributing real-world operational insight to scalable, standards-driven training systems.
Carlos Vargas
Carlos Advisor
Carlos I. Vargas is a seasoned hospitality and culinary executive with more than 25 years of experience leading large-scale food and beverage operations across stadiums, convention centers, hotels, casinos, airport hospitality programs, and premium dining environments. He is known for combining culinary craftsmanship with strong operational discipline, consistently delivering high-quality guest experiences in complex, high-volume environments.
Carlos specializes in high-volume culinary operations, menu innovation, cost optimization, labor management, and building scalable systems that help teams perform consistently under pressure. His leadership style focuses on developing strong operational structures, mentoring teams, and creating cultures built on accountability, collaboration, and pride in execution.
Early in his career, Carlos trained as an apprentice with the Culinary Olympic Team USA West and later helped establish Team California alongside Chef Brad Toles, where the team earned a gold medal in competition. Beyond operations, he remains passionate about mentorship and leadership development, actively supporting and coaching the next generation of chefs and hospitality professionals.
Eric Adams
Eric Advisor
Eric Adams is the founder and CEO of Dog & Whistle, a Nevada-based pet wellness company building a vertical ecosystem around upcycled, chef-crafted dog nutrition. With deep expertise in food and beverage operations from his time leading teams at Wynn Las Vegas and The Cosmopolitan, Eric recognized an opportunity to bring premium F&B principles to pet health—crafting meals that prioritize sustainability, transparency, and preventative wellness.
Under his leadership, Dog & Whistle has secured backing from Gener8tor and Nevada Battle Born, and built a multi-channel brand presence spanning DTC, wholesale, and strategic partnerships. The company recently launched Mindful Guardian, a post-purchase wellness platform that deepens customer engagement. Beyond food, Dog & Whistle is developing B.A.R.K. (an edible, compostable chew in partnership with NIU’s Bioplastics Lab) and producing a 24-episode educational series, “Can My Dog Eat This?” with Dr. Azza Daisti.
Eric champions circular economy principles, carbon-neutral manufacturing, and innovative solutions for functional pet nutrition. His mission: reduce food system waste while making preventative pet wellness accessible to every dog owner. Dog & Whistle is reshaping the pet industry through best-in-class food and beverage innovation.
Joe Santos
Joe Advisor
What started as a college job of working in a nightclub as a bar back when he was 21 years old while studying behavioral science, has become a life-long passion for Joe Santos. In 2000, Joe began his career with Café Sevilla, where he went from high-volume bartender to Manager within a few short years; and then to General Manager. He continued to move up, ultimately becoming Chief Operating Officer for the company’s three restaurants and three nightclubs across Southern California.
Now the Chief Operating Officer of GBOD Hospitality Group, Joe oversees operations for the company’s restaurants, implementing procedures to maximize the guest experience while also maximizing profit margins. Joe brings extensive operational experience to GBOD, and together with his partners, is creating structured and replicable flagship concepts.
Mary Ealy
Mary Advisor
With nearly 20 years of hospitality leadership experience, Mary Ealy has led high-volume, multi-unit operations with a consistent focus on team development and operational performance. Her background spans restaurants, bars, airport concessions, private dining, marketing, and large-scale event execution, providing a comprehensive understanding of hospitality operations across diverse environments.
She is particularly strong in front-of-house leadership, with a track record of building service-driven cultures, developing high-performing teams, and implementing structure, accountability, and consistency across operations. Mary is recognized for her ability to align teams, elevate service standards, and maintain strong operational execution in fast-paced, high-demand settings.