Tuesday, March 4, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Elaine Romano, a 56-year-old hotel-casino executive, is being remembered by her family and friends as a woman who loved her work and someone they loved to work with.
"I know it sounds cliche, but I say that genuinely," said co-worker Rick White when describing Romano, killed Sunday in a plane crash in Salt Lake City. "She was a very competent professional. But more importantly, she was a friend. She was one of those really unique people who got along with everybody and was a delight to work with. She was just a great lady, a delight."
Romano was in a twin-engine plane that crashed during a snowstorm in a pasture a mile south of Salt Lake International Airport's runway. The pilot and two other passengers were injured.
White, vice president of marketing for Coast Resorts, said Romano was hired 13 years ago to put together an in-house ad agency for the Gold Coast hotel-casino. She was president of LGT Advertising and director of advertising for Coast Resorts, which owns the Orleans, Gold Coast and Barbary Coast hotel-casinos.
"She's been in charge of the ad agency ever since," White said.
Christopher Johns, 49, executive chef of the Orleans, was upgraded to fair condition today at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, hospital spokeswoman Lanaya Wright said. He suffered a fractured vertebrae, a broken right leg and bruises to his chest, she said.
Richard Myrick, 59, art director for Coast Resorts, and the pilot, Robert Parry, 55, were in serious but stable condition today. Parry suffered a head injury and fractured leg and underwent surgery Monday.
The group was going to Salt Lake City for four days to film a commercial for the hotel's restaurants, White said. Coast Resorts' film production company is located in Salt Lake City.
Fred Meoli, Romano's brother, said his sister, her two children and husband followed him to Las Vegas from Norristown, Pa., in the early 1970s. She went to work as an executive secretary for the Las Vegas Hilton, where Meoli was and still is a blackjack dealer. She divorced about 12 years ago, he said.
"She was so dedicated to her work and her job," Meoli, 59, said of his sister. "She was a strong person. Her daughter died, then our parents died. She's been through so much. But she was always a joyful person."
Romano's 23-year-old daughter, Cindy, a student at UNLV, died 10 years ago from a sudden illness, Meoli said.
Michael Gaughan, chief executive officer of Coast Resorts, said: "Elaine was much more than an employee; she was also a personal friend. We are all deeply saddened."
When a 29-year-old UNLV student won a $10.9 million jackpot on a Megabucks slot machine at the Gold Coast in 1995, Romano supported a decision to not release the winner's identity when he asked to remain anonymous.
Michelle Masse, an advertising rep, first met Romano at the Gold Coast when Megabucks hit. Masse said because it was a record jackpot, clients wanted to go to the Gold Coast and gamble. Masse often called on Romano at the last minute to make arrangements for guests.
"She was very professional, very thorough," Masse said. "She was an absolute delight."
Besides her brother, Romano is survived by a daughter, Sherri Romano of San Diego, and an uncle, Louis Meoli of Las Vegas.
Funeral arrangements were being done by Palm Mortuary, but details were not available.
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