Marrandino promotion, departure expected soon

Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

By John Katsilometes

Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009 | 12:01 p.m.

The roast held for Don Marrandino last month at Flamingo Las Vegas was billed as a 50th birthday party. The event could serve as part of his send-off, too.

Barring any unforeseen developments between now and Tuesday, when an official announcement is expected from Harrah’s Entertainment, Marrandino has accepted a significant promotion within the company and will be heading back to his hometown of Atlantic City, where he was born and where as a teenager he once worked for Harrah’s for $5 an hour. One of the city’s more prominent and publicized casino executives, Marrandino is currently president of five Harrah’s hotel-casinos on the east side of the Strip: Flamingo, Harrah’s, O’Shea’s, Imperial Palace and Bill’s Gambling Hall & Saloon.

Marrandino declined comment this morning when asked about rumors sent via Twitter late last night that he was heading back to Atlantic City, other than to say an announcement would be sent out by the resort company in a couple of days.

It is not a stretch to say only a can’t-refuse offer would be persuasive enough for Marrandino to leave Las Vegas, where he has worked as an executive for Station Casinos, along with brief stints with Hard Rock Hotel under Peter Morton and Wynn Las Vegas. Marrandino also spent some time running Harrah’s and Harvey’s Lake Tahoe. His instinctive feel for entertainment has led to some of the shrewdest bookings on the Strip, including Donny & Marie’s residency (recently extended to 2012) at the Flamingo and the Smokey Robinson-backed vocal group Human Nature at Imperial Palace.

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