Early exposure to Hollywood movies in western-leaning Jordan put Hussein Shawbaki on the path that brought him to Gulfstream Park.
 “I was always fascinated with American culture,” he said.  “From what I saw in the movies, from what childhood friends who went to school here told me, … I love this country and I knew from a young age that I wanted to reach my dreams here.”
 Mr. Shawbaki comes to Gulfstream Park most recently after serving from Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, the largest luxury hotel company in North America. Its portfolio includes properties in Hawaii, New York City and Monte Carlo. Mr. Shawbaki most recently served at Fairmont’s Turnberry Isle Resort and Club, where he was the Assistant Food and Beverage Director. Prior to that he worked at Fairmont’s Bermuda property.
 “My time at Fairmont provided me with a great education,” he said. “I gained my first experience working in a union environment at Bermuda. That’s where I learned good management is like a good union: You protect your staff, you take care of them, and you work hard. They recognized me as a hands-on manager and we all got along very well.”
Mr. Shawbaki is the second-youngest in a family of 11 children, raised in the Jordanian capital of Amman by parents who enjoyed having a few people over the house from time to time.
“My parents taught me a lot about hospitality,” he said. “They loved company, and I’m not talking four or five people. I’m talking 40 or 50.
“My father is a military man, born in a very poor village in South Jordan. He wanted to join the army when he was 14 but was turned back, finally joining during World War II when he was 18. One day King Hussein came to his base. The king needed a car to drive him around and the king chose my father’s car because it was the shiniest, cleanest car on the base. The king liked my father very much and in time he became the king’s full-time driver and bodyguard. My father spent nights in the White House and together he and the king spent 43 years together (before the king’s death in 1999).”
Mr. Shawbaki’s parents and siblings still live in Jordan, where he visits from time to time, but he’s made a life for himself in the U.S.
“I first came here when I was 17,” he said. “Speaking English wasn’t my strong suit so I went to a language institute in North Carolina. There were so many good-looking girls there … I think I was ‘Americanized’ the first year and a half.”
After his speaking skills improved, he moved south and double-majored at Daytona Community College in Travel and Tourism and Hotel-Motel Management. He completed requirements for a bachelor’s degree at Florida International University.
While attending school he worked with the Marriott Corp. but a temporary bout of homesickness brought him back to Jordan. While there he hooked on with Planet Hollywood – a theme restaurant patterned after Hard Rock cafes -- and was involved with opening franchises in Europe and the Mideast. Along the way he had the chance to meet celebrities such as Bruce Willis and Bill Paxton.
The 41-year-old Mr. Shawbaki acknowledges that it was a thrill to rub elbows with the stars, but it’s the day-to-day business of running a successful operation that satisfies him most.
“I’ve worked all aspects of the hospitality business, from bussing and washing dishes to managing budgets and guest relations,” he said.
“It’s very important for people in this business to have a passion for it, and I always have. You need people skills of course, you need the ability to multi-manage people from different cultures, but you also need the ability to recognize people’s talents and areas of weakness, and the patience to work on their improvement. Understanding people’s talents and working with them to improve their abilities has been my strength.”
Leaving Fairmont was a major decision, but he has the support of his wife, Duaa, and the confidence in the choice he made.
“Fairmont is a great company and my time there was very rewarding,” he said, “but if you want to reach your dreams you need to take risks. Gulfstream Park has a wonderful future ahead of it and the chance to play a role in building that future presents a wonderful opportunity for me.”

Gulfstream Park, which opened in 1939, is located on approximately 250 acres of land in the cities of Hallandale and Aventura, between Miami and Fort Lauderdale in Florida. World famous for its thoroughbred race meet each winter, highlighted by the $1 million Florida Derby, Gulfstream Park is also now home to more than 1,200 Las Vegas-style slot machines, a luxurious poker room and restaurants. In the near future, Gulfstream Park will become home to a one-of-a-kind retail-residential center, to be known as The Village at Gulfstream Park. For more information, contact Mike Mullaney, phone: 954-457-6451, Mike.Mullaney@gulfstreampark.com