Aladdin Resorts’ president resigns

Gary Thompson

Thursday, Sept. 23, 1999 | 11:23 a.m.

Aladdin Gaming said it established an "office of the president" for the company's operating subsidiary, Aladdin Resorts, in the wake of James McKennon's departure as president of unit.

Aladdin Gaming President Richard Goeglein will be joined by Bill Timins and David Ataway in the restructured office, which will shift management's focus to an operating company from a development firm as the opening of the $1.3 billion Strip resort draws closer.

As chief executive, Goeglein will oversee all strategic operations for the massive hotel-casino being built south of Paris Las Vegas and east of Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip.

Timins, an executive with extensive casino management experience for London Clubs, will manage day-to-day operations, while Ataway will be responsible for sales, marketing and entertainment.

Ataway will also continue seeking joint venture partners for the Aladdin Music Project, which was originally to be developed with Planet Hollywood. When that company pulled out of the deal due to its own financial problems, Aladdin went ahead with construction of the hotel-casino and Desert Passage shopping mall, a partnership with retail developer TrizecHahn.

"When I started to focus on the operation business rather than the development business, it became apparent we'd put together a corporate structure with two operating units," Goeglein said.

"One included a senior operating executive for the Aladdin Music Project, but after Planet Hollywood dropped out, it wasn't what we needed. We decided it was time to tighten the management structure and refocus into one single large operating business, but that didn't work philosophically for Jim," he said.

McKennon left the company Friday, and couldn't be reached for comment.

Goeglein said construction "is moving along well and has a nice pace to it," with opening of the 2,600-room Arabian Nights-themed resort now scheduled for late June. An April opening date had been discussed, but the new timetable is intended to allow the resort to better coordinate with the retail project.

"We're coordinating with TrizecHahn on the Desert Passage retail center and will probably agree on a firm date sometime within the next two months," he said.