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Friday, Aug. 28, 2009 | 12:26 p.m.
Sun Coverage
Tropicana Las Vegas has put a new executive team in place under the leadership of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alex Yemenidjian, the company announced today.
Longtime gaming lawyer Joanne Beckett will step in as vice president and general counsel, overseeing all legal aspects of the company including security, surveillance, government relations and risk management.
Tropicana’s Vice President of Finance Jerry Fox will keep his position while also assuming the role of chief financial officer. The UNLV alum has been with the resort since the fall of 2008.
Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association Director and UNLV alum Arik Knowles will serve as the vice president of hotel operations. His position will include overseeing all aspects of hotel operations, guest services and revenue management.
Taking on the position of casino operations will be Don Wren, who has worked at MGM Grand Inc., Primm Valley Casino Resorts, Excalibur and Harrah’s Las Vegas.
Former Fontainebleau marketing director Trish Gilbert will serve as vice president of marketing. Gilbert has also held executive-level positions at Atlantic City Resorts and the Aladdin Resort and Casino.
Todd Gagnon will lead the Tropicana’s convention and group sales effort as vice president of sales. Gagnon served as director of sales for Harrah’s Entertainment’s eastern region, director of sales for Caesars Palace and director of accounts for the Marriott Corporation.
Spearheading Tropicana’s new entertainment ventures will be Grammy award-winner Nancy Gregory as vice president of entertainment. Gregory has produced shows for Disney Paris, Warner Brothers, Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden.
Other appointments include former MGM Grand and Rio executive Fred Harmon as vice president of human resources, Stratosphere’s Jim Laughlin as vice president of food and beverage and former MGM Grand executive Richard Faircloth as vice president of information technology. Tropicana’s Melissa Steinberg will remain the vice president of player development.
The new management team is part of the property’s effort to revamp and restructure after emerging from bankruptcy last month.
The company released an updated logo earlier this month as the first step in the resort’s rebranding campaign. A $125 million renovation project is expected to begin at the Tropicana later this year, the company said, including a revamped casino floor, hotel rooms, pool and spa facilities, new dining options and a nightclub.
Tropicana has remained virtually unchanged since its last renovation in 1985. The facelift is expected to be complete in 2010.
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I think $125 million renovation project for a Casino which has remained unchanged for 35 years is like me putting in new blinds in my house. It will not make a dent. It will still be a dump.
The oft-utilized phrase "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic" leaps to mind.
Perhaps a first good idea is to get rid of that strange "smell" inside of the casino. perhaps it's a good idea to replace the carpets every 20 years or so....this might help making some tourists stroll through the casino instead of passing,....on their way to the MGM resorts across the street....
...former executive of this/that casino. It looks like "suffle-up and redeal," but you get the same ole, same ole.
The place is a dump.
Its unfortuante that an implosion at this point in time makes no sense either.
While they are remodling, they should repair the paper thin walls in the rooms. They make the the never remodled Excalibur look good.
Too little, too late.
All of you who jump on here and whine, don't complain cuz it could be worse. You could live in Cleveland! You could have ZERO gambling and winter could last 7 months. You don't want any of that!
Great, give the idea to Cleveland to have neighborhood casinos with overpriced fruity drinks, nightclubs that have stripper poles and V.I.P. bottle service, and low incentive for using their players club cards.
Nobody is telling u to stay in Cleveland. They don't have a good baseball team, football team and their basketball team is overrated. As for the Tropicana it is so run down u would need to have the buildings torn down and start over!!!!!!!!!
The Tropicana has its work cut out for themselves. Management changes by themselves are not going to move this needle and the available capital is likely to fall short. If however, Yemenijian is able to make this a success, it will certainly speak to his expertise. He will have to grow revenues while controlling expenses - always challenge - but with the current economy, City Center, and desperate competition all around him this looks like a herculean task. Atlas shrugged. How will Alex stand up?
Hire Andrew and Joan Palmer for your rebranding. They are brilliant!
www.rollingpassion.com
It's the Palmer's latest brand roll out.