Resorts World Las Vegas announced Thursday that newly installed CEO Alex Dixon will be moving into a new role as senior advisor to the Board of Directors and that Carlo Castro will serve as president and chief financial officer.
Dixon, who assumed the role of CEO in mid-January, will have a role to drive enterprise projects and build strategic partnerships, the company said.
“We are confident that this will be a seamless transition with industry veteran and respected long-time hospitality leader Carlos Castro stepping into the president and chief financial officer role,” Resorts World said in a statement. “Carlos has already been making major contributions to the property, attracting top area talent in the areas of compliance, international marketing, and food and beverage. Resorts World Las Vegas leadership knows our best days are around the corner and this is the next phase in our evolution.”
Castro rather than Dixon appeared before the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday and said compliance is the property’s top priority, while telling Nevada gaming regulators that its casino business “is in a recovery mode.”
Resorts World last month named Jennifer Roberts as its chief compliance officer. In March, it was hit with a $10.5 million fine by the Nevada Gaming Commission for allowing people with ties to illegal bookmaking to gamble at the Strip property.
Castro said Resorts World “has taken a hit over the last three quarters” and that they’re “looking to rebuild that business,” focusing primarily on slots, which have dropped dramatically. A new senior vice president of slot operations starts June 1, Castro said.
“We do see recovery coming in 12 to 18 months as that business ramps up and we become more diligent in our marketing and sales efforts. We’re confident that business will return.”
Non-gaming, hotel occupancy, average daily rate, and segmentation are “very strong and our convention business is doing fantastic,” Castro said. The property has about 200,000 square feet of convention space and catering for meetings is profitable.
Castro said food and beverage “is doing well,” but there’s a lot of opportunity to grow. That’s one of the reasons they made a leadership change and a new senior vice president of food and beverage, Josef Wagner. He previously worked for MGM Resorts at Bellagio.
In addition, Castro said, “We are having a complete overhaul of our retail operations,” bringing in new executives to help turn around leases and their own retail outlets. “We’ve also tasked the team to look for cost efficiencies. The team has done an excellent job of going after areas of inefficient opportunities.”
