Gaming briefs for Nov. 18, 2003

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2003 | 11:10 a.m.

Sales executive dies

Dolores Owens, executive vice president of Middle East and European Marketing for MGM MIRAGE, died Monday. She was 74.

Owens began her gaming career more than 25 years ago as a pit clerk at Caesars Palace.

She is credited with breaking the glass ceiling at a time when few women worked as casino hosts, paving the way for more women to be promoted in the gaming industry.

Owens became a casino host after three years at Caesars and was named executive vice president of Middle East and European operations for Caesars World Marketing in 1983. She joined MGM MIRAGE after 22 years with Caesars.

"Contemporaries were astounded that not only could she best her competition in this predominantly man's business environment but the majority of her clients were from countries where women usually played the lesser role -- and her guests not only respected her but were fiercely loyal only to her," MGM MIRAGE said in a statement.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday and Thursday in Michigan.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Dolores Owens Scholarship Fund for Women at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

University launches casino management program

BILOXI, Miss. -- Tulane University, a private institution based in New Orleans, says it will offer a casino resort management program at its Biloxi campus -- something Mississippi universities are legally barred from doing.

Tulane began offering a casino resort management course this summer, which was expanded into the degree program.

Curt Follmer, president of the Mississippi Gaming Association, said he hopes the Legislature passes bills to let Mississippi community colleges and universities offer gaming-related classes.

The Legislature legalized gambling more than a decade ago, but Mississippi colleges and universities are barred from offering gaming-related courses. Bills to legalize casino classes for Mississippi schools have died five years in a row.

Tulane's program will offer associate degrees, minors and certificates for students who already have bachelor's degrees, Marksbury said.

People in the gaming industry need opportunities for education that could lead to raises and promotions, said Rick Marksbury, dean of Tulane's University College at Edgewater Mall in Biloxi.