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StumbleHard Rock Hotel president found dead of gunshot wound
Published Tuesday, March 9, 2010 | 12:46 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, March 9, 2010 | 3:58 p.m.
Randy Kwasniewski
UPDATED STORY: Coroner: Death of Hard Rock hotel chief a suicide
Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel and Casino President Randy Kwasniewski was found dead this morning in his Summerlin home, the company said today.
Police responded at 9:50 a.m. to the home of Randy Kwasniewski and found a man dead of an apparent gunshot wound. Police weren't confirming the person was Kwasniewski, but a company official said that Kwasniewski, 56, was found dead and the company later released a statement.
The statement confirmed Kwasniewski's death and offered prayers for his family, but contained no other details.
In an e-mail to the Sun, Dorian Cantrell, director of public relations at the Hard Rock, said, "We are extremely saddened by the loss of Randy, and our hearts and prayers go out to the family. We do not know any further details at this time."
The Clark County Coroner's Office will release an official cause of death.
Kwasniewski was president of Morgans Hotel Group Las Vegas and chief operating officer of the Hard Rock Hotel Inc.
Morgans Hotel Group Co. of New York, co-owner and manager of the Las Vegas hotel-casino, said in a statement this afternoon that Kwasniewski was found dead in his home.
"The cause of his death was unknown to the company at this time," Morgans said in the statement.
Fred Kleisner, CEO of Morgans, said he had known and worked with Kwasniewski since 1995.
"He was not just one of my colleagues and a leader of our company, he was my friend," Kleisner said in a statement. "I know few hotel and casino executives who have the knowledge, focus and work ethic that Randy possessed. I will miss him. All of us at Morgans are deeply saddened by the passing of Randy. I know I speak for everyone when I say we all mourn his loss. Randy was a dedicated husband and father, a friend to many of us, and a valued colleague. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family."
Kwasniewski joined Morgans Hotel Group in October 2006. He had worked in the hotel industry for about 30 years. Before joining Morgans, he served as senior vice president of Starwood Capital Group, where he played an integral role in the acquisition and operational aspects of Starwood hotel portfolios including the Societe du Louvre and Le Meridien.
Before joining Starwood Capital Group, he was the vice president of operations for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, where he oversaw all hotel, food and beverage, retail and facilities staffs and operations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Word is that he shot himself. This ought to open up some kind of can of worms at The Hard Rock Hotel..Condolences to his family.
R.I.P. Mr. Kwasniewski.
RIP Randy.
Wow, the hard rock has really had a time with their Presidents.
RIP
Was this about money...I mean did he kill himself because he was bankrupt...this sounds like the great depression of 1929... when the stock market crashed and people threw themselves off the roof of their office buildings....
Kind of odd, the company is doing good right now! RIP.
More bad news. My condolences to his family.
RIP Randy, say hi to Snooks up there and know that everything is finally going to be ok.
R.I.P. but it would be nice to have the mob back to straighten this town out.
Thats quite a career this guy had. He was a very well accomplished professional. Its hard to imagine what could have possibly gone so wrong to take his own life.
I guess Commentator "mred" wants the FBI and THE Thought Police to conduct a parallel lookasee into the E.T.'s at Hangar 51, the Sloe eyed Aliens in Roswell, and of course, the Saudi corpses who flew the SR-71's into the Twin Towers??
(Someone play the music from "Brazil", please)?
....Welcome to Las Vegas, Nevada, where this and stuff just like this is the "Norm" instead of the "acception"...has been for a long time,Las Vegas has always been a pretty tough town,the "Nature of the Beast"........
ok, sun...you are simply going too far in removing comments.
there was NO reason to remove my comment. it was essentially the same as david1961's comment, but someone suggesting criminals come back to town has their comment stay up?
unless there is something clearly offensive, libelous, profane, or hate speech...the comment should stay up and READERS...you know...the people that keep you employed... should agree or disagree with its tone or message.
Comment removed by moderator. Name-calling.
If this economy doesn't improve soon more of this will happen. Anyone below the status of wealthy corrupt politicians, corporate CEO's, and Wall Street swindlers are subject to it.
PBR, Thanks for commenting on my comment-they'll have to take yours down now too. It was the LA Times that did a great story on the Nevada Judges, the Nevada Papers are afraid of information about Metro, Casinos, and the justice system. And thank God for TMZ and the tabloids, they are the true champions of investigative journalism.
I offer my condolences to his loved ones.
To Randy Kwasniewski, if this IS about money- I just have to say that contrary to popular belief, there ARE worse things than not having either as much money as you were used to, or no money at all. I just wish you'd asked your friends and family how much YOU were 'worth' to them.
I always wonder why this newspaper allows comment to be made about someones death. Whether by accident, murder, or just dying. It very often evokes nasty commentary. If this person did suicide maybe the doctors gave him an expiration date and he couldn't handle it. Who knows? This was an important guy and I feel bad for his family.
Comment removed by moderator. Name-calling.
Randy Kwasniewski is the 11th most popular google search and Andrew Kwasmieski is the 20th most popular google search. 36% of the searches come from Vegas and 13% from New York. The business people have an interest in this story. Some of the financial reporters FT, IBD, WSJ, have a nose for this type of story. I bet they know the back story, if any, already. This could effect the gaming industry as a whole from an investor standpoint. If you don't like the comments then log off. No one is forcing you to look at them.
A wise and savvy financial guy told me a long time ago "On any deal, you really never run out of money, you just sometimes run out of time."
Hopefully, this wasn't about money. You can always make more of it.
Condolences to the family, friends and colleagues.
This is so sad!! I just wonder what was so wrong that he had to kill himself. RIP and God speed!!
So it's name calling if I point out that it's always the same people that have their posts removed?
No it's not, unless in doing it you call then names. Pretty simple rules, really, and not hard to abide by them.
I am still in shock... my heart goes out to his wife, son, family and friends. I am sure I speak for all of us from Hard Rock Hotel and Casino when I say how sad this is... We are like a family; he took the time to get to know as many people as possible so I know he will be missed.
mred: The reason there is such a large interest from those in New York is because Morgans Hotel Group headquarters is based in Manhattan (which owns Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas). Some very close friends and business partners of Randy K. are in NY mourning his death right now and are just as curious as you and I to finding out what is going on; opposed to your belief that their interest is of financial concern.
P.S. Morgans Hotel Group is doing great right now...
it's obvious you're attempting to "filter" the comments on this story.
i (and my opponents) have posted the exact same language on other stories and it stays up, but on this one thet get deleted?
how much in advertising DOES the hard rock do with the greenspun media group each year?
yeah, they took out a big loan.
Public company, registered with the stock exchage, with stock holders, lenders, investors and employees and government corporate filing.
and world wide activities (didn't they open a Hard Rock in Singapore?)
Therefore, it is not about one guy and his family and friends.
My condolences to the family and friends of Randy Kwasniewski, life is full of unexpected turns and bends placed upon us at times not necessarily convenient, especially when times are challenging; know in your heart he will always live as you reminisce the precious moments you shared.
Admirers and competitors alike can forever remember this quote "It's not positive comments alone that sustain one's fame and remembrances, it's the fact that comments are made of them whether favorable or otherwise that keeps a person's presents alive thought the passing of time" (summarized).
Randy"""RIP"""..one for me.
stevem:
The reason there may be inconsistency in deletions of comments is that the decision is made by senior staff members, not a computer reacting to keywords, and there's no one single staff person who reads all comments. Several of us do, so we may vary a bit based on our own sensibilities in moderating the comments and enforcing the rules.
I'm one of the enforcers, and as for how much money Hard Rock spends with Greenspun Media Group, I have no idea.
RIP Randy. You seemed like a great guy. Whether it was work, personal matters or medical matters I wish you had talked to someone before you took your own life. Condolences to the friends & family.
Stevem, how hard IS it to occasionally press the <shift> key?
By gdperson
March 9, 2010
2:45 p.m.
Suggest removal R.I.P. but it would be nice to have the mob back to straighten this town out.
....Nice thought, but the "running of this town" hasn't really changed since whatever time you wanna talk about...the only difference is the "red tape" and all the new people that have settled here in the last 18 or so years....
Too many negative comments...let the poor man's family have their privacy during this time of their grief...why should this family have to read negative comments years from now when they get the strength to perhaps start reading and looking.
One standard for Wayne Newton and casino owners, and another for the rest of us.
Stockholders and investors are people too, they have a right to know what's going on at publicly held or registered company. Moreover, would this event deter investors from getting involved in the gaming industry in Nevada in general? It doesn't exactly send a message of sound stability.
some people can manage a huge company, but can't manage their own life. pathetic.
A business website affiliated with a TV/Radio network has a columnist attacking the Sun specifically and other media, for their coverage of this story. She says the "headline was changed."
Of course, the facts are not in, and after Metro did a PR botch-job on the Manor-Darling crash, you can appreciate them taking time to investigate thoroughly and not jump to conclusions.
A major conservative political web gossip site now has the story up, linking to a local right wing radio station in town. A major Vegas newspaper has taken the comments section down, relating to this story.
(I'm glad they still bring papers up from LA with the latest Vegas NEWS, HAS THE BUS ARRIVED YET?)
Please people.. let's not speculate on the "why". I know it's a natural question but some things are just unknowable.
Yes Hard Rock recently expanded and there was pressure with that but the place is packed and seems to be doing GREAT! He was loved by his family and his employees and not everything is corruption.
RIP Randy K.
thank you lvjackie. so much speculation as to why, give the newspeople some time to figure it out.
What else is there into this story?
Who cares!! He was not unemployed like a lot of people here in Las Vegas. He was making alot of money and I am sure he lived in a big fancy house. People are so stupid. Oh, lets feel sorry for him, the firefighters, Wayne Newton, etc.. The reality is that these people are rich and you are not..
By dhvincent1
March 9, 2010
10:54 p.m.
How old was the guy?
-------
How about reading the article, Sparky?
to reality checker...so what if he may had been rich, bottom line is he was one of the most generous "rich" people i have ever known....RIP Randy you will be missed by many.
I would love if mred shot himself and blamed it on local talk radio. mred we wouldnt miss u at all!
GREED screws up everything thats "GOOD"
I hear on the news he was such a great family man this and family man that. Well, suicide is NOT a victimless act. He may have been a great businessman but in committing suicide, he was a selfish man with no regard for his family, friends or business associates. I'm sorry that his family is now left to clean up his mess, try to figure out why (you know he left a note being that he was SUCH a big family man), and then deal with the stigma of saying he committed suicide. People who commit suicide are NOT heroes, they're cowards and don't deserve to be glorified by the masses who obviously didn't know him at all! People who commit suicide NEVER rest in peace, because it is a mortal sin and unforgiveable.
Does anyone find it strange that MHGC was up 0.20 in after hrs trading. It was the only piece of news out that day. Something is not right here.
What a selfish, selfish man....
There is always a back story, hmmm....
Randy was a much loved man. Once you got to know him you were a friend forever.
I have to say something to the heartless people who are saying he was selfish. Randy was quite the opposite. He was one of the most generous people I have ever known.If you only look on the surface of something like this, you may be able to say a stupid comment like that. But only imagine the pain someone must be it to actually go through with something like this. I myself can only feel the greatest sympathy for someone in such pain. Yes, we are all in pain now and to many of us it is an unbearable pain but his pain had to be greater.
I pray that Randy is at peace and that all his family and friends can move through the rest of their lives in love and understanding.