Four Horseshoe executives defect to Hollywood Park

Four senior executives of Las Vegas-based Horseshoe Gaming Inc. are leaving to join Hollywood Park Inc. of Inglewood, Calif.

Departing are Paul Alanis, Horseshoe's president for the past three years; J. Michael Allen, Horseshoe's chief operating officer for more than two years; Loren Ostrow, senior vice president and general counsel; and Cliff Kortman, vice president in charge of construction and development.

All agreed to join Hollywood Park when their employment contracts expire. Other than Allen's contract, which expires in May 1999, all of the contracts expire at year's end.

Alanis, Allen and Ostrow did not return calls for comment. Kortman, reached at his Houston office, declined comment. Neither Hollywood Park nor Horseshoe officials returned calls for comment.

According to a Hollywood Park statement, Alanis will become president and chief operating officer of the company, overseeing all operations but paying particular attention to the company's expanding gaming division. Allen will become senior vice president and chief operating officer of Hollywood Park's gaming division. Allen will be responsible for ensuring consistent quality and operating results at various Hollywood Park gaming facilities.

Both Ostrow and Kortman will assume positions similar to their current jobs.

As part of the management changes, Timothy Parrott will resign as chairman and chief executive of Hollywood Park's Boomtown division. It is unclear whether Alanis or Allen will assume Parrott's duties.

R.D. Hubbard, Hollywood Park's chairman and chief executive, said all four executives were instrumental in the development and management of Horseshoe's Gulf Coast casinos in Bossier City, La., and Tunica, Miss.

"Their backgrounds and extensive experience will greatly improve Hollywood Park's ability to identify and acquire undercapitalized but profitable acquisition candidates," said Hubbard in a statement.

In the same statement, Alanis said these are "exciting times" for Hollywood Park.

"We will continue to pursue Hollywood Park's carefully conceived strategy of consolidation within emerging gaming jurisdictions, as well as bring the capability to create first-class new developments in these profitable emerging jurisdictions," said Alanis.

Hollywood Park is a holding company that owns Boomtown Inc, a company with casinos in Reno, Biloxi, and New Orleans. Hollywood Park also owns the Hollywood Park race track, in Inglewood, Calif., and an associated casino, as well as a racetrack in Phoenix. The company owns and leases to a third party the Radisson Crystal Park hotel-casino in Compton, Calif., manages an Indian casino in Toppenish, Wash., and owns two casinos in Argentina.

Hollywood Park is in the process of acquiring Casino Magic Corp., which owns two casinos in Biloxi, one in Bay St. Louis, Miss., and one in Bossier City, La., adjacent to the Horseshoe hotel-casino. The Mississippi Gaming Commission approved the acquisition on Tuesday.

Hollywood Park recently received Indiana regulatory approval for a $150 million riverboat casino to be based south of Cincinnati, Ohio.

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