Remembering Q

On this special episode of On the Corner of Main Street, Plaza CEO Jonathan Jossel and hotel director Gary Vickery return after a brief break with heavy hearts to remember their friend and executive casino host, Aquarius “Q” Wilkinson. They open the show in a quieter, somber mood, sharing the news of Q’s passing and reflecting on the shock that has rippled through the Plaza, downtown Las Vegas, and Q’s extended family of guests. What was planned as a normal episode instead becomes a toast to a man who embodied hospitality and made everyone around him feel like a VIP. Before the replay begins, Jonathan and Gary talk about the last week at the Plaza and the overwhelming response from Q’s players and friends around the country. They share messages from guests who still came in for planned trips, how the team rallied to make sure those visits stayed special, and why Q’s presence is still felt on the casino floor. They also explain how listeners can support his family through the GoFundMe that Rachel, his wife, set up and mention future plans for a celebration of life at the Plaza in Q’s honor. The episode then rolls back to April 2021, when Q first sat down with the podcast to tell his story. Listeners hear how a nineteen year old kid working in an arcade at The Lady Luck in Bettendorf, Iowa, fell in love with taking care of people and followed that feeling into security and then surveillance in St. Louis. Q explains what it was like watching the casino from a dark room, writing up errors, and realizing that he wanted to be on the floor with the energy, not behind the cameras. That decision would send him to Detroit in 1999, dealing dice at the first MGM Casino there while the action was nonstop and the line to get in wrapped around the building. From there, Q walks through his move to Las Vegas and the dream of making it on the Strip. He talks about dealing at the Suncoast, then spending six years at the Palms during its peak, with ten dollar games replaced by green and black chip action and celebrities like Ben Affleck, Jerry Rice, and Missy Elliott learning craps at his table. Eventually, Q shares why he chose to return to the Midwest, become a host, then come back to Vegas and join the Plaza just before the pandemic. He explains what “being a host” really means to him: calling guests from his “laboratory,” building trust, surprising them with experiences like helicopter rides and cornhole tournaments, and making a working class player feel as special as any high roller on the Strip. The conversation also captures Q’s first impressions of the Plaza and how his view of downtown shifted once he was inside the building. He talks about the family feeling under the dome, the culture Jonathan and the leadership team built, and why he preferred the closeness and honesty of Plaza guests over the flash of larger resorts. Q reflects on working through the shutdown, training in the gym during COVID, watching downtown recover, and dreaming about how to use the Plaza’s unique spaces for concerts and events. Throughout, his voice is full of optimism, gratitude, and a competitive desire to outwork and out-care every other host in town. This episode is both a time capsule and a tribute. If you knew Q, it is a chance to hear his laugh, his stories, and his philosophy on hospitality one more time. If you never met him, it is a chance to understand why so many people called him their host, their friend, and their reason for coming back to the Plaza. The team shares details on how to support his family through the GoFundMe linked with the episode and invites listeners to raise a glass, share their memories, and help keep Q’s spirit alive on the corner of Main Street. https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-q-helping-his-family 00:00 Introduction and Somber Mood 00:46 Remembering Aquarius Q Wilkinson 01:17 Tributes and Memories 03:46 Celebration of Life and GoFundMe 04:31 Interview with Aquarius Q Wilkinson 05:19 Q's Early Career in the Casino Industry 07:31 Transition to Surveillance and Dealing 08:22 Moving to Detroit and Becoming a Dealer 12:48 Journey to Las Vegas 14:37 Life at the Palms Casino 17:09 Switch to Casino Host and Personal Reflections 18:25 What Does a Casino Host Do? 18:54 Building Relationships with Clients 20:24 Returning to Vegas 21:05 First Impressions of the Plaza 23:53 Creating Memorable Experiences 34:50 Adapting During the Pandemic 37:42 Future Plans for the Plaza 39:17 Conclusion and Contact Information