Gaming briefs for Oct. 30, 2003

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2003 | 11:21 a.m.

Executives promoted to posts of chairman, CEO

RENO -- International Game Technology today promoted President and Chief Executive G. Thomas Baker to chairman, replacing Charles N. Mathewson, who is retiring from the board and will become chairman emeritus.

Chief Operating Officer Thomas J. Matthews will add the titles of president and chief executive officer.

The moves are effective immediately.

In a statement, the digital gaming and lottery products company said Mathewson was appointed to the board of directors in 1985 and was named chairman in February 1986.

Baker joined IGT in 1988 and has been a member of its executive staff since then, with the exception of a brief stint at Boomtown Hotels & Casinos in 1995 and 1996. He has been a member of the board since October 2000.

Matthews was formerly chairman, president and chief executive of Anchor Gaming, and he joined IGT as a director and chief operating officer when it acquired Anchor in December 2001.

Park Place puts Hilton up for sale

RENO -- The Reno Hilton, Northern Nevada's largest hotel-casino, is up for sale.

A real estate broker for Park Place Entertainment Corp., the Hilton's parent company, confirmed the property is on the market, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported today.

The hotel-casino near Reno-Tahoe International Airport has 2,003 rooms, nine restaurants, 200,000 square feet of convention space and a 115,000-square-foot casino.

It was the largest casino in the world when it opened in 1978 as the MGM Grand.

A spokesman for Park Place acknowledged that various properties are being considered for sale but would not name them. Len Ramos, a Reno investment properties associate with CB Richard Ellis, confirmed a buyer is being sought. The sale is being handled out of CB's Las Vegas office.