MGM Resorts International said Thursday longtime gaming executive Bobby Baldwin would leave his various positions with the gaming company at the end of the year.
Baldwin, 68, who helped develop the massive CityCenter complex on the Las Vegas Strip and was a longtime associate of Steve Wynn, currently holds the positions of Chief Customer Development Officer of MGM Resorts and CEO and President of CityCenter.
“Few have played a more central role in the growth and transformation of the gaming industry than Bobby, and his contributions over more than three decades are immeasurable,” the company said in a statement. “MGM Resorts thanks Bobby for all he has done for the company and all he has meant to this industry and wishes him the best for the future.”
Baldwin’s original claim to fame was wining the World Series of Poker in 1978. At the time, he was the youngest player to ever win the Main Event at age 28, collecting $210,000. He continued playing poker over the years, earning four World Series of Poker individual event championship bracelets.
He joined Steve Wynn as a consultant at the Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas in 1982 and became the hotel’s president two years later. He helped Wynn open The Mirage in 1987 and was named president of the Bellagio in 1998. The high-end poker room at Bellagio is named “Bobby’s Room.”
He was Wynn’s chief financial officer of Mirage Resorts when the company was sold to the then MGM Grand Corp. in 2000. After the merger, he remained with MGM in a variety of roles. In 2005, Baldwin became CEO of the announced Project City Center, which, at $8.5 billion, was the most expensive development in the history of Las Vegas.
CityCenter opened in 2009.
In 2017, MGM announced that Baldwin was injured after falling down two flights of stairs at CityCenter’s Aria resort but was expected to make a full recovery.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
