MGM Resorts names 4 new normal managers | Casinos & Gaming

MGM Resorts International has prolonged the employment phrases for 2 key executives, strikes which may be designed to make sure continuity on the high of the corporate when its highest-ranking government departs on the finish of 2028.

The Las Vegas-based gaming large filed new employment agreements with Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Halkyard and Chief Commercial Officer Gary Fritz, each efficient Oct. 1.

Under his new deal, Halkyard will stay with MGM via September 2029, incomes a base wage of $1.25 million and an annual goal bonus equal to 150 p.c of that quantity. The settlement additionally supplies annual fairness awards valued at $3.1 million, break up evenly between efficiency share models and restricted inventory models.

A separate Form 4 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reveals that Halkyard not too long ago acquired 46,065 restricted inventory models, value roughly $1.5 million at present market costs, marking the primary installment of his new incentive plan. He now immediately owns about 114,000 shares of MGM inventory, valued at roughly $3.6 million based mostly on Monday’s closing worth of $31.57.

Fritz, who oversees MGM’s digital enterprise, agreed to a three-year contract via 2028 that features a $1.5 million base wage, a 175 p.c goal bonus and annual fairness grants valued at $4.5 million. His deal additionally contains particular efficiency incentives tied to BetMGM’s profitability and the launch of recent digital choices.

MGM Resorts President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle is underneath contract via 2028. Hornbuckle, 67, was supplied an advisory position on the conclusion of his present time period to help with the opening of the corporate’s yet-to-be-completed on line casino resort in Osaka, Japan.

Halkyard is on a brief record of inside candidates who might succeed Hornbuckle, in keeping with firm insiders.

New GMs named at MGM Resorts casinos

MGM Resorts International has named 4 new normal managers to guide 5 of its Las Vegas resorts, all promoted from inside the firm, in keeping with an inside firm memo.

Mark Czerniak will function normal supervisor of Bellagio. He beforehand labored as CFO for Bellagio and Park MGM, and has held monetary management roles at MGM Grand, The Signature, and New York-New York since becoming a member of MGM Resorts in 2016.

Doug Sandoval will oversee Aria and Vdara, bringing greater than 20 years of monetary expertise at premier Las Vegas resorts.

Mark Lefever has been named normal supervisor of The Cosmopolitan. Lefever joined MGM Resorts in 2015 and has held CFO roles at Luxor, Aria/Vdara, MGM Grand/Signature and New York-New York.

Andy Meese will lead Park MGM after greater than 25 years in hospitality technique and operational roles throughout Mandalay Bay, Delano (now W Las Vegas), Luxor, CityCenter and Bellagio.

Czerniak will report back to Ayesha Molino, who will change into MGM Resorts’ chief working officer on Jan. 1, succeeding the retiring Corey Sanders. Sandoval, Lefever and Meese report back to Sean Lanni, president and COO of The Cosmopolitan, who not too long ago expanded his oversight to Aria, Vdara and Park MGM.

Gambler refuses to concede authorized battle with Strip megaresort

An lawyer for high-stakes gambler Robert “R.J.” Cipriani urged a Ninth Circuit panel on Oct. 6 in Las Vegas to revive his lawsuit in opposition to Resorts World Las Vegas and former president Scott Sibella. Cipriani, who goes by the X deal with “RobinHood 702,” has been urgent his case for a number of years, arguing that the on line casino allowed one other gambler to harass him for weeks.

Attorney Mitchell Keiter stated the decrease court docket wrongly dismissed Cipriani’s case by counting on judicial estoppel, a authorized precept meant to cease folks from taking inconsistent positions in court docket. He argued that Cipriani’s claims by no means modified in substance and that Resorts World did not intervene till the state of affairs “got out of hand.”

Resorts World lawyer Tamara Beatty Peterson stated Cipriani’s story shifted between filings, whereas the protection for Sibella argued he couldn’t be held personally accountable underneath negligence or “innkeeper” legal responsibility legal guidelines.

U.S. Circuit Judge Gabriel Sanchez questioned whether or not Cipriani really gained any unfair benefit by altering his pleadings, saying he was “still struggling to find out what that advantage is.”

Keiter informed the Review-Journal he was “very happy” with how the continuing went.

The three-judge panel heard arguments however didn’t subject a choice, taking the matter underneath submission.

Golden State bans sweepstakes casinos

California will make sweepstakes casinos unlawful beginning Jan. 1 after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 831 into legislation Saturday. The invoice handed via the state Legislature unanimously.

The measure, supported by the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, is supposed to guard the unique rights of tribal nations to function gaming within the state. CNIGA argued that sweepstakes casinos, on-line platforms that lets customers play casino-style video games, infringed on these rights.

The transfer represents a serious blow to the sweepstakes business. California, the nation’s most populous state with greater than 39 million residents, dwarfs different states contemplating related laws, together with New York, the place a invoice nonetheless awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature. Florida, the third-largest state, not too long ago did not move a sweepstakes ban.

Industry teams had urged Newsom to veto the invoice. The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance cited a examine displaying 85 p.c of Californians favor regulating and taxing sweepstakes operators. Executive Director Jeff Duncan warned that AB 831 might take away $1 billion from the state financial system and hinder digital gaming innovation.

Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0378. Follow @AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.