The Cordish Companies last week announced key executive appointments to its gaming and lodging division.
Robert J. Norton, who has served as president and general manager of Maryland Live! Casino through development and since its grand opening in June 2012, has been elevated to the new position of President of Cordish Global Gaming Group, the company’s international gaming division. Mr. Norton will maintain his duties as President of Maryland Live! At the same time, Douglas Shipley has been named executive vice president and general manager of Maryland Live! Casino. Both appointments are effective immediately.
“We have been incredibly fortunate as a company to have a leader as skilled as Rob and we are pleased to place him in a role where he can impact the growth of our gaming ventures at Maryland Live! and outside the state,” said David Cordish, chairman of The Cordish Companies. “At the same time, to add a person of Doug’s ability to the Maryland Live! team is a terrific coup for the property.”
The announcements come as Cordish prepares for the impending growth and expansion of the Live! Casino brand, including the arrival of a new hotel and event center at Maryland Live! Casino; as well as the development of the new Live! Hotel & Casino in Philadelphia. Plans for both projects are well underway and will be officially announced in the near future.
Robert J. Norton is a veteran gaming executive with extensive knowledge of the industry and more than 20 years of hands-on operational experience. In his new capacity, he will continue to work closely with the executive teams at both Maryland Live! and Live! Hotel & Casino in Philadelphia, as well as working with the Cordish Companies on new opportunities to expand the Live! Casino brand into other markets, domestic and abroad. Norton is recognized for driving multi-million dollar projects forward from inception to opening and on to profitability. Prior to Maryland Live! Casino, he held top executive positions with the MTR Gaming Group and Isle of Capri Casinos, where he was responsible for the development, expansion, and operations of dozens of casino resorts in multiple gaming jurisdictions across the country.
As executive vice president and general manager of Maryland Live! Casino, Douglas Shipley will assume oversight of the day-to-day management and operations of the property. Shipley most recently served as president/CEO of Margaritaville Casino in Biloxi. He brings more than 30 years of extensive and diverse hands-on management experience in the casino industry, including corporate positions for Fortune 500 gaming companies, to the development and management of domestic tribal gaming, and overseeing international gaming operations in the Bahamas and Latin America. Shipley has actively participated in the development, day-to-day management and rapid growth of large resort gaming organizations in every major U.S. gaming jurisdiction. In addition to Margaritaville, he has held senior executive and management positions at Bally’s Park Place, Caesars Nevada, Grand Casinos Inc., Ameristar Casinos Inc., Cascade Entertainment LLC, and Isle of Capri Inc.
“As the company continues to experience exponential growth, it is our intention to place all necessary focus and attention on the future projects at hand; while continuing to deliver the same level of excellence and customer service our guests have come to expect at Maryland Live! Casino,” said Joe Weinberg, CEO and managing partner, the Cordish Companies Gaming Division. “These appointments complement and strengthen our corporate gaming team and position us to maximize results at our existing operations, while pursuing development and management opportunities in other gaming jurisdictions.”
