Albert Faccinto Sr., who gave scores their start in gaming, dies at 91

By Ed Koch, Special to the Sun

Published Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016 | 12:24 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016 | 12:55 p.m.

Albert “Moky” Faccinto Sr., one of the founding executives of Caesars Palace in the mid-1960s, who as casino manager and later as director of casino operations was credited with giving hundreds of Las Vegans their first gaming jobs, died late last week. He was 91.

The family announced his death Monday through spokesman Alan Mann. No further details were immediately available. Services are pending.

Faccinto was the father of Albert “Big Al” Faccinto Jr., president of international marketing for MGM Resorts International.

Faccinto Sr. was considered one of the most powerful casino figures on the Strip in the 1960s and ‘70s. Scores of people he gave their starts to in the gaming industry became casino executives, including his son.

Albert Sr., along with his late wife, Helen Ann “Herky” Faccinto, were among the earliest supporters of — and donors to — the efforts to create Bishop Gorman High School, where Faccinto Jr. was a three-sport letterman before graduating in 1968.

Faccinto Sr. helped open Caesars Palace in 1966, serving as one of five gaming operations assistants to original casino manager Jerry Zarowitz. Five years later, he was promoted to casino manager.

In 1972, then-Caesars Palace President William S. Weinberger promoted Faccinto to director of casino operations, making Faccinto the highest-ranked gaming employee at the resort.

Faccinto Sr., a native of Steubenville, Ohio, got his start in the casino business in 1946 as a 21-year-old card dealer at the old Frontier Club in downtown Las Vegas.

He steadily rose through the gaming ranks from dealer to various managerial posts from the early 1950s through the mid-1960s, working at such storied resorts as the El Rancho Vegas, Flamingo, Riviera and El Cortez before joining Caesars Palace as a shift boss, a post he held until he became casino manager in August 1971.

Prior to that, Faccinto Sr. served as interim casino manager after previous casino manager Robert J. Peccole left Caesars in May 1971.

He retired from Caesars Palace in 1985.

Faccinto Sr. and his wife had four children, Albert Jr., John, Barbara and Mary Ann. A complete list of survivors was not immediately available.