Saturday, June 22, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Some of the gaming industry's most dynamic executives have teamed up at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino.
The $344 million resort is the first joint venture between Mirage Resorts Inc. and Circus Circus Enterprises Inc., two of the industry's largest operators.
The venture resulted from negotiations involving Mirage's Steve Wynn and Dan Lee and Circus' Glenn Schaeffer, Tony Alamo and Vince Matthews. The Circus executives will operate Monte Carlo, and each company will get 50 percent of the profits.
Steve Wynn
Wynn, 54, is Mirage chairman and CEO. His stewardship of that company is credited with leading the resurgence of the Las Vegas gaming scene that began in 1989.
Wynn, a Connecticut native and University of Pennsylvania graduate, moved to Las Vegas in 1967 and bought a stake in the Frontier Hotel, where he worked as an executive while operating a wine and liquor importing and distribution firm in Nevada.
He invested profits from a real estate venture in Golden Nugget Inc. in 1972 and began transforming the downtown hotel-casino into an elegant destination resort.
Named Golden Nugget chairman in 1975, Wynn oversaw construction of a resort on Atlantic City's Boardwalk that was ultimately sold to Bally for $440 million. Wynn used proceeds of the sale to develop The Mirage, which opened in late 1989.
Considered the most successful property in the history of the gaming business, Mirage set off a $5 billion building boom that made Las Vegas the nation's fastest-growing city.
It was followed four years later by the opening of Treasure Island, which draws large crowds daily for a ship battle staged along the Strip.
With Treasure Island, Wynn had built Mirage Resorts, the successor to Golden Nugget Inc., into a company boasting 8,300 rooms. But he was far from finished, and has promised to double that room total in the next four years.
Mirage is spending $1.3 billion to construct Bellagio, a Las Vegas resort he promises "will be the best hotel in history." It's also building a $500 million resort -- Beau Rivage -- on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and is going back to Atlantic City to develop a 175-acre site that will house a stand-alone Mirage resort, a joint venture with Boyd Gaming Inc. and a Circus Circus project.
Wynn and his wife, Elaine, are active in community affairs and have two daughters, Kevin and Gillian.
Dan Lee
Since joining Mirage Resorts in 1992, Dan Lee has played a key role in the company's growth.
The youthful Lee, a 1977 graduate of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, worked as an operations analyst for Hilton International before receiving his MBA from Cornell's graduate business school in 1980.
He spent 10 years at Drexel Burnham Lambert, most of it as a research analyst specializing in the hospitality industry. During that time, he served on a team that provided the financing that propelled lodging and gaming industry growth during the 1980s.
He performed similar research and financing duties at First Boston from 1990 to 1992, when he joined Mirage as senior vice president of finance and development. He has been the company's chief financial officer and treasurer for four years, helping reverse a 10-to-1 debt-to-equity ratio and produce one of the strongest balance sheets in the gaming industry.
His wife, Susie, is director of the Greater Las Vegas Inner-City Games.
Glenn Schaeffer
Like Wynn, Circus Circus President Glenn Schaeffer is considered a leading advocate of the gaming industry and is a favorite of Wall Street analysts who value his acumen.
A summa cum laude graduate with two advanced degrees in literature from University of California-Irvine, Schaeffer began his career as a stockbroker. In the late 1970s, he joined a management consulting firm that was hired to advise Caesars World on several issues, including financial relations.
When Ramada Inc. acquired the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas and announced its intention to move into Atlantic city, Schaeffer had to decide between two job offers. He chose Ramada, where he became a corporate vice president.
Schaeffer joined Circus Circus when the company went public in 1984 and rose to the position of president and chief financial officer by the end of the decade. In the early 1990s, he attempted to broaden the company's base of gaming operations, a move that met with opposition from some Circus board members.
Schaeffer and a handful of Circus executives who sided with him left to form Gold Strike Resorts, which operated casinos in Jean and Henderson from 1993 to 1995. That's when a management change at Circus resulted in a reunion -- Circus Chairman Clyde Turner acquired Gold Strike for about $600 million in stock and brought Schaeffer back as president and chief financial officer.
He is overseeing a massive expansion by Circus in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and the Gulf Coast area, and helped negotiate a $1.5 billion revolving line of credit that's the biggest bank loan position in the gaming industry.
Schaeffer, 42, and his wife have boys ages 9 and 7 and a 5-year-old daughter.
Tony Alamo
As senior vice president of operations, Tony Alamo oversees four Circus Circus resorts -- Monte Carlo, Excalibur, the Hacienda and Luxor, where he also serves as general manager.
Alamo, 54, was with Circus at its inception in 1974 and served as general manager of the company's flagship property, Circus Circus Las Vegas, from 1984 to 1988.
He left Circus and joined the Desert Inn, where he was senior vice president and general manager until December 1991.
In January 1992, Alamo joined the MGM Grand as senior vice president and general manager and later became executive vice president and chief operating officer of the company.
He joined Gold Strike in early 1995 and, when it was acquired by Circus, was named to his current position.
A low-profile, high-energy manager, Alamo's experience has been critical in helping assemble the Monte Carlo management team that will direct the resort's 3,200 employees.
"Through the years, we've developed a network of good people and we've found it relatively easy to put together the right team to tackle a project like this," he said.
Alamo and his wife have a son who's a Las Vegas physician and a daughter who is a psychologist for the Clark County School District.
Vince Matthews
Vince Matthews, vice president and general manager of Las Vegas' newest mega-resort, started in the hotel business right after graduating from Las Vegas High School.
Matthews began working his way through UNLV as a desk clerk at the Holiday Inn Center Strip and was soon offered a promotion to front office manager. Although he could have made three times as much as a valet parking attendant, the 18-year-old chose the management post.
"It was the right decision," he said, for it led to a series of management positions at the Desert Inn, Riviera Hotel and Summa Corp., which operated the Sands, Frontier and Landmark resorts.
Before signing on at Monte Carlo last June, Matthews was vice president of hotel operations at the MGM Grand.
"The teamwork, communication and cooperation from Circus has meant that the toughest thing about running the Monte Carlo so far has been making sure all the furniture, fixtures and equipment are installed on time," he said.
Once the resort is open, Matthews will concentrate on maintaining high occupancy rates and establishing a solid customer base by offering value-priced amenities to a mix of leisure travelers, rated players and local residents.
The 42-year-old divorcee has one daughter, 17.
Matthews' executive staff includes Kevin Blair, general counsel; Bill Cleek, director of casino marketing; David DeLeo, manager of attractions; Jacquie de Roode, human resources director; Tim Donovan, security director; Bill Ensign, casino operations director; Ana Fernandez, hotel operations director; Lee Fofi, chief engineer; Ken Haas, sales manager; Steve Hauck, controller; Cliff Hay, rides and attractions director; Rich Lehman, slot operations director; Robert Leidenheimer, surveillance director; Gerard Moser, food and beverage director; Cindy Robertson, advertising manager, and Bill Uglow, vice president for corporate retail operations.
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