Sophia Salas Del Pozo’s mom was a blackjack dealer at the Flamingo. Her stepfather, Todd House, worked as an executive chef at the property.
Their love story started in the back of the house at the resort. The family business later began in the Flamingo kitchen in the late 1990s.
House created the area’s first custom-built oil filtration machine, which took used kitchen oil at the Flamingo and recycled it for extended use. Soon, House secured contracts with Caesars Entertainment to filter oil at two other properties, Bally’s and Paris.
RENUoil of America has expanded to more than 30 properties on the Strip, and now provides more than recycling oil for the resorts. It recycles cardboard, plastics, metal, paper, batteries, wine corks and more. It’s a massive operation with nearly 400 employees, all of whom are stationed at properties and are on call around the clock for emergencies such as oil spills.
When House unexpectedly died in 2008, his family stepped up to keep the business functioning. That, Salas Del Pozo says, was easier said than done.
Salas Del Pozo, who worked her way through the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV as a cocktail waitress at the Imperial Palace, envisioned a career as a lawyer. But suddenly she was a businesswoman—a profession that took some getting used to.
“We have been very blessed because there were a lot of people willing to step up and give guidance,” said Salas Del Pozo, who is the company’s chief marketing officer and chief legal counsel.
Caesars Entertainment has become more than a contract for the company. It also is a valuable resource, as Salas Del Pozo frequently attends the resort’s Economic Equity Tour events designed to help diverse businesses become high-achieving.
The tour, which in 2019 had 1,119 participants, provides workshops in financial literacy, workforce development, entrepreneurship and potential business opportunities with Caesars.
Caesars’ corporate philosophy is simple: Companies and communities perform at a high level when diverse teams exist. The question is: “How can we can identify and prepare ready and willing business?” said Gwen Migita, vice president of social impact, sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion at Caesars.
A recent financial management seminar for small businesses with annual revenues of less than $500,000 explored using lines of credits and loans. It detailed products available to businesses and how to leverage the capital, Migita said.
“It’s looking at how owners can understand what is available to them,” she said.
RENUoil of America is a Latino-owned business. In addition to Salas Del Pozo, brother Raul Salas is chief operating officer, and mother Isabell Ysassi is CEO. The business inclusion effort by Caesars has aided in the company’s development, Salas Del Pozo said.
A seminar on workplace culture was one of the most meaningful, she said. With employees deployed at various properties in the resort corridor, Salas Del Pozo didn’t feel a connection with team members. She made small changes, like distributing paychecks at the company’s headquarters near the Strip instead of through direct deposit, which gave employees valuable interaction with one another and created the family feel that had been missing.
Salas Del Pozo is a frequent attendee of the workshops, which often serve as a refresher. The events create one big networking opportunity, where Salas Del Pozo tries to pay it forward by giving advice to entrepreneurs getting started.
“I needed a lot of guidance when I was getting started, and I’m glad I received it,” she said. “I enjoy connecting with other [members of the] community and trying to mentor them.”
The same theory holds true for Caesars, whose education series includes “Women of Color,” “People, Planet, Play” and “Access to Capital.” Caesars’ approach to equity is about “leveling the playing field for social economic justice,” Migita said.
RENUoil of America’s waste management consulting includes: recycling dock management, recycling sorting services, asset reclamation, cooking oil filtration and grease recovery.
“We don’t go off the Strip. That is our niche,” said Salas Del Pozo, a fourth-generation Las Vegan.