Former LV casino executive to run Gulf Coast resort

Friday, June 17, 2005 | 11:06 a.m.

The former head of casino operations for Paris and Bally's casinos in Las Vegas has left to lead a resort under development along the Gulf Coast.

Joseph V. Manno, a former senior vice president of casino operations at Caesars Entertainment Inc., has been named president and chief executive of the proposed Havana Casino Resort in Biloxi, Miss. The $300 million project received site approval last month from the Mississippi Gaming Commission and will feature 500 hotel rooms, six restaurants, retail shops, a wedding chapel and a nightclub.

The project, expected to begin construction in September, still requires a state casino license.

Manno left Caesars in advance of the company's acquisition by Harrah's Entertainment Inc. when he opted out of a company contract, his spokesman Reed Guice said. He was offered other industry jobs but chose to run his own resort, Guice said.

Manno's sister, M. Sandra Manno, is chief executive of Onnam Entertainment Inc., a privately held casino development company in Las Vegas that is developing the resort. She was previously based out of Atlantic City and has several contracts with Indian tribes, Guice said.

The Havana-themed resort has been under development for more than a year and would be located within a mile of the Hard Rock-brand casino resort now under construction in Biloxi. The region already has about 14 casinos but land on the Gulf has become scarce, Guice said. Mississippi doesn't limit the number of casinos that can be licensed but requires that they be built on water.

Manno managed more than 1,500 employees at Caesars and has worked in the casino industry for more than 30 years in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.