The man behind the record
Cannabis executive. Hospitality and nightlife consultant. Expert witness. For two decades, Robert Casillas has built, fixed, and defended the businesses most advisors won't touch, from the Las Vegas Strip to federal court.
$100M+
Cannabis assets under management
21
Years leading Monsoon Media
2011
Bar Rescue, Season 1 consultant
45
Esquire's Top 45 under 45
The story
Robert Casillas made his name where the stakes are loud and the margins are thin: nightlife and hospitality. Over more than a decade he became the industry's go-to operator, consultant, educator, and speaker, advising venues and ownership groups across the country and earning a seat on the boards of the Nightclub & Bar Show, Nightclub & Bar Magazine, and the Club & Venue Expo.
Law firms came next. Since 2011, Casillas has served as an expert adviser and witness in lease disputes, partnership disputes, and fund allocation cases, including the federal matter MGM Resorts International and Mandalay Bay vs. Rum Jungle, where his analysis helped drive a favorable settlement. Spike TV brought him in as an expert consultant for the first season of Bar Rescue.
In 2015 he moved into cannabis, an industry with even fewer maps and far more noise. As President of Cannabis Commerce Group Consulting, he has guided publicly traded companies, legislators, investors, and operators through licensing, development, compliance, and distressed projects. In 2019 he founded Legal Leaf Hemp, adding CEO and retail founder to the list. The throughline is simple: when an industry is regulated, misunderstood, and unforgiving, Robert Casillas is the call.
Career
A timeline of the roles, companies, and courtrooms that shaped one of the most versatile advisors in regulated business.
2015 — Present
Leads one of the country's earliest cannabis consultancies, trusted by publicly traded companies including MedMen Inc. and Maple Leaf Green World, with more than $100 million in cannabis assets under management.
2005 — Present
Twenty years of full service marketing and brand activation, with deep specialization in licensed businesses across cannabis, nightlife, and hospitality.
2019 — Present
Founded and leads a CBD retail chain and product line, taking hemp from concept to consumer shelf.
2015 — 2018
Ran one of Nevada's earliest recreational dispensaries through its acquisition by MedMen Inc. in October 2018.
2010 — 2015
Retained in the federal case MGM Resorts International and Mandalay Bay vs. Rum Jungle, where his findings proved instrumental to a fast and favorable settlement.
In the press
Casillas has served as an industry expert and contributor to major news outlets and trade publications across the country.
Designations and boards
Expert Adviser and Witness, Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial
Expert Advisor and Witness, Round Table Legal Group
Expert Advisor and Witness, G. Dallas Horton & Associates
Expert Consultant, Spike TV's Bar Rescue, Season 1
Board of Advisors, Nightclub & Bar Show and Magazine
Board of Advisors, Club & Venue Expo, Los Angeles
Top 100 Judge, America's Top 100 Nightclubs & Bars
Esquire Magazine's Top 45 under 45
Plus Elliot & Co.'s Most Influential Businessmen of Las Vegas, 2009
No project too difficult. The team specializes in contingency and distressed projects.
Robert Casillas, President, CCGC
Private consultation
Whether you need an operator, an expert witness, or a guide through a regulated market, the first step is a private conversation.
