Horst Dziura, who served as president of the Flamingo Hilton from 1976 to 1999, died in Santa Barbara, California on March 17, after a lengthy battle with lung disease. He was 79 years old.
Dziura spent 30 years at the Flamingo Hilton, serving as president for the last 25 before stepping down. Retirement didn’t suit him, so he went to work with South Point owner Michael Gaughan for seven years at the Orleans and South Point.
Gaughan said, “We knew we couldn’t pay him what he was worth, but he said he just wanted to get back out of the house. He ran the Orleans for Boyd Gaming, and we just got out of the way for him.”
Gaughan said Dziura’s daily routine included walking the casino floor when he arrived first thing in the morning, and repeating the process before he left for the day. The habit made Dziura a beloved figure among employees at the Flamingo and at Gaughan’s properties.
Caesars Entertainment Corporation Regional President Eileen Moore Johnson said, “Employees would talk to me about his ‘president’s walk,’ where he and his direct reports would walk the property and he would direct fixes and improvements as they toured. It would happen quickly and they would also talk to employees in their work space. He also had a popular employee newsletter called ‘The Bird’s Word.’ He was a well-loved leader of the Flamingo and a legend.”
Former Caesars executive and current board member Jan Jones Blackhurst added, “There was a presence about him, and he was kind and he was elegant. I always said there was something regal about Horst and the way he carried himself. He had a demeanor and a bearing that was just elegant and lovely.”
MGM Resorts International Interim Chief Executive Officer Bill Hornbuckle called Dziura a pioneer. “He established order and structure when the industry desperately needed it,” Hornbuckle said. Truckee Gaming Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner Ferenc Szony noted he went to work for Dziura after graduating from University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
“Everybody focused on the Las Vegas Hilton with Elvis and the shows and the high-rollers. Horst was the one who took the Flamingo and had the vision for taking the place from a pretty rundown old joint and turning it into a juggernaut of profitability for the company. It wasn’t the fanciest, but he was the guy that said ‘We’re going to serve the middle market. We’re going to serve tour travelers, the airlines and tour companies,’” Szony said.
He added Dziura “really drove the idea that the casino was going to make money anyway. But if we do it right, food and beverage can make money. And the tennis courts can make money. And you can get the hotel to make money. He drove that into so many of us and was able to bring it to the bottom line way before any of the other properties in town really thought about the idea.”
Dziura is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Glenda, and a son, Horst Dziura Jr., who owns a large dental practice in Southern California. The family requests donations be made in Dziura’s memory to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation at pulmonaryfibrosis.org.
