MGM Resorts International has tapped a pair of industry veterans to head its CityCenter resort complex in Las Vegas and its newest acquisition, Empire City Casino in Yonkers, N.Y.
Steve Zanella took up the post of president and chief operating officer of CityCenter on January 1, assuming duties that include daily operational oversight of Aria Resort and Casino and the non-gaming Vdara Hotel & Spa and providing strategic direction for both properties.
He succeeds Bobby Baldwin, who announced his retirement in October after 18 years with MGM.
A World Series of Poker titleholder and longtime protégé of Steve Wynn’s, Baldwin had been associated with CityCenter, which MGM co-owns with Dubai World, since its inception in 2005, when he was appointed to head development of the $8.5 billion complex and succeeded in getting it open in the teeth of the Great Recession in 2009.
Prior to joining CityCenter, Zanella was president of MGM’s Core Properties group in Las Vegas, which includes New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur, Circus Circus Las Vegas and the new Park MGM, where he played a key role in the transformation and re-theming of the resort, formerly the Monte Carlo.
He has held a number of finance, marketing and gaming positions with MGM since joining the company in 1991, notably as vice president of slot operations at Beau Rivage on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast and later as president of MGM Grand Detroit.
At Empire City, Uri Clinton, a longtime gaming attorney specializing in the Northeast market, will serve as the first president and CEO under MGM’s ownership.
MGM announced its acquisition of the racino and harness racing complex just outside New York City in May and expects to close on the $850 million purchase in the next few months under terms that call for MGM’s majority-held REIT partner, MGM Growth Properties, to own the land and buildings and lease their operations back to MGM.
Clinton joined MGM as a vice president and deputy general counsel in 2014 and helped lead the company through its exploration of a number of development opportunities in Connecticut and New York. He was promoted to senior vice president and legal counsel in 2016 and moved into global development for the company last year.
Before joining MGM, Clinton held high-ranking legal positions with Caesars Entertainment, Multimedia Games and the Bahamas’ Baha Mar Ltd.
In other news, MGM has moved to expand its borrowing capacity by around $770 million through additions to a term loan and revolving credit facility and an extension of the maturity date for both agreements to 2023. The initial cost of the changes is reported to be LIBOR plus 2.25 percent, which would represent a reduction of 50 basis points on the previous terms.
