Media Man Tourism Blog: Hard Rock International Announces Key Leadership Appointments for Las Vegas and Atlantic City Properties

Hard Rock International Announces Key Leadership Appointments for Las Vegas and Atlantic City Properties

HOLLYWOOD, Fla., Aug. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Joe Lupo has been named President of the future Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, subject to regulatory approval of Hard Rock International's previously announced plans to purchase The Mirage Hotel & Casino from MGM Resorts International. Lupo will take over the role once the Nevada Gaming Commission licensing process has concluded. An Ohio native, Lupo has more than three decades of casino gaming experience. He was named President of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City in November 2018, after spending two successful years at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa.

Lupo's new position in Las Vegas was announced today by Hard Rock International Chairman Jim Allen, who is the driving force and vision behind Hard Rock International's purchase of The Mirage Hotel & Casino and the company's plan to construct an iconic Guitar Hotel on the Las Vegas strip.  Allen said Lupo is uniquely qualified to become the President of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas.

"As president of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City for the past four years, Joe Lupo has achieved amazing results," said Allen. "Thanks to his dedication and expertise, financial results continue to outperform expectations, while our team members share an unmatched commitment to guest service and satisfaction. I am confident Joe Lupo will achieve even greater success at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas."

Lupo is no stranger to Las Vegas, having worked at various Boyd Gaming properties in Las Vegas and in Laughlin, Nevada, including the former Stardust Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, where he was the Director of Race and Sportsbook.  He is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

In Atlantic City, Anthony Faranca will be promoted to property President, subject to regulatory approval, effective September 1. A Philadelphia native, Faranca is a seasoned casino executive with extensive experience managing large gaming properties in several states including Maryland, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

"Anthony's deep knowledge of the Atlantic City and Northeast region is an invaluable asset to the company," said Jim Allen. "We are confident that Anthony will continue Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City's legacy of success and impactful leadership in the community."

Faranca began his casino career in Atlantic City as a Guest Services Manager and was promoted through the ranks to Regional Vice President of National Casino Marketing at the four Caesars Atlantic City properties. Faranca eventually relocated to Philadelphia and was appointed Vice President and General Manager of Parx Casino in 2009. Faranca then moved to Las Vegas to join Station Casinos and served as Vice President and General Manager for the Palms Casino Resort while also managing the company's enterprise-wide strategy for Table Game operations.

Faranca returned to the east coast in 2019 and joined the Cordish Companies as Vice President and General Manager of Live! Casino in Hanover, MD. In this role Faranca navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, launched a FanDuel Sportsbook, and opened a 5,000-seat event center.

About Hard Rock®:

Hard Rock International (HRI) is one of the most globally recognized companies with venues in over 70 countries spanning 265 locations that include owned/licensed or managed Rock Shops®, Live Performance Venues and Cafes. HRI also launched a joint venture named Hard Rock Digital in 2020, an online sportsbook, retail sportsbook and internet gaming platform. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world's largest and most valuable collection of authentic music memorabilia at more than 86,000 pieces, which are displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock Hotels has been honored with Outstanding Guest Satisfaction and above for four consecutive years among Upper Upscale Hotels in J.D. Power's North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study and in 2022, the iconic brand was ranked as the number one brand for the second year in a row. HRI is the first privately-owned gaming company designated U.S. Best Managed Company by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal for the second year. Hard Rock was also honored as one of Forbes' Best Employers for Women, Diversity and New Grads and a Top Large Employer in the Travel & Leisure, Gaming, and Entertainment Industry. In 2021, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos received first place ranking in the Casino Gaming Executive Satisfaction Survey conducted by Bristol Associates Inc. and Spectrum Gaming Group for six of the last seven years. For more information on Hard Rock International, visit www.hardrock.com or shop.hardrock.com

SOURCE Hard Rock International

Media Man Tourism Blog: High rollers still on the menu as Crown and Star lock horns

High rollers still on the menu as Crown and Star lock horns

After a decade of drama, Sydney finally has two casinos vying for its gambling dollar - separated by the barest sliver of a harbour.

Crown Resorts and Star Entertainment Group have been put through the regulatory ringer, many would say belatedly, for their shoddy approach to compliance. But suitably chastened, both are now ready to go toe-to-toe in their pursuit for punters.

However, as Crown Sydney’s marketing brochures highlight, the multibillion-dollar resort dreamed up by billionaire James Packer is staying true to its promise of focusing on high rollers. There is no enticement for the grind market, which is the staple of The Star and the poker machine dens across Sydney.

A $10,500 bar tab is the sort of spend needed to get a punter through Crown Sydney’s VIP gaming room doors at Barangaroo, which opened for the first time this week. This figure is based on Crown’s rewards program for Barangaroo which, ironically, does not specify how much gambling is needed to reach the Gold and Platinum status needed to gain entry to its gaming facilities.

One thing is clear, Crown clearly does not have to worry about the “RSL on steroids” tag, which dogged The Star for years.

Crown, under the new ownership of US private equity group Blackstone, has also remained faithful to Packer’s mantra that the gaming operation - which was originally due to open alongside the hotel in December 2020 - remains central to the economic feasibility of the entire resort.

“Crown Sydney is quite a unique facility and integrated resort. I think that integrated nature will also extend itself to the integrated nature of income,” Crown Sydney chief executive Simon McGrath said.

“It’s got a very good balance of gaming, hospitality, restaurants, bars and spas and other facilities. And I think that’s really important.”

Barangaroo needs to be firing on all cylinders. Blackstone paid $8.9 billion for the entire Crown operation in Australia, a price that took the casino operator back to a valuation that pre-dated the scandals and a regulatory nightmare that has seen it deemed unfit to hold a casino licence in all three states in which it operates.

The inquiries were triggered by a series of reports by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes in 2019 that examined Crown’s irresponsible treatment of problem gamblers and its relationship with high-roller “junket” operators linked to powerful Asian criminal gangs.

The regulatory upheaval, which is still impacting both Crown and Star, is another unwelcome juggle for the newly opened facility.

“First, and foremost, we’ve got to make sure that we deliver safe and responsible gaming, and then we deliver the curated experience of luxury service,” McGrath says. “I think the combination of both those will give us a strong and sustainable business going forward.”

Also making life tougher is the fact that the disgraced junket operators, which did the dirty work of attracting Chinese high rollers, and extracting the cash when they lost - for a significant fee - have been banned.

But Crown’s new operation offered a not-so-subtle hint that Chinese gamblers are still on the radar with its opening date 08.08.22: eight is the luckiest number in Chinese culture with its traditional association with wealth.

Whether it succeeds in wooing them will be clearer in October when its exclusive high-roller floor opens.

To enter the hallways of Barangaroo’s Mahogany room - which houses 30 private salons for the serious high-rollers that Crown once enticed with its own private jets - a minimum spend of $45,000 across its bars, restaurants and hotel is needed to attain the Platinum status necessary for entry. Once again, Crown’s brochures do not specify the level of gambling spend needed for Platinum status.

Of course, the serious high rollers will be offered the Black tier membership which is by invite only.

Market analysts no longer track Crown as it is a private company, but in December last year, Macquarie forecast that Barangaroo could end up with 35 per cent of Sydney’s tables-based gambling market by the 2025 financial year. This is expected to be worth $923 million. Macquarie forecast VIP turnover of $10 billion by 2025.

Meanwhile, analyst reports focused on the ASX-listed Star following a July market update highlighted that poker machine and non-gambling revenue, across its Sydney and Queensland casinos, have soared above pre-COVID levels. Table gaming revenue, which is all Crown is relying on in Sydney, remains subdued.

Crown will have 160 tables, plus 66 electronic tables operating across the Crystal Room and 30 private salons on the Mahogany floor. While Crown Sydney will ensure Star’s table gaming revenue does not recover in Sydney, Star does have a secret weapon that Crown cannot rely on: the grind market.

“In NSW, we note that Club electronic gaming machine (EGM) data to May-22 is consistent with Queensland, with profit per EGM running at 129 per cent of pre-COVIDlevels,” a report from Goldman Sachs said last month.

And as JP Morgan analyst Don Carducci pointed out in a recent research note, The Star has a lot at stake as it extracts roughly $115 million in EGM, or slot, revenue from its top-tier gamblers on top of what it gets from their table-based gaming.

“The slot support for Star cannot be overstated; approximately one-third of Sydney (VIP) revenues are linked to slot play,” he said.

A fund manager who watches the casino market closely, says Crown has had the edge with high rollers in Melbourne due to the assets it had at its disposal including golf, horse racing and the Grand Prix.

“They always attracted that tier one player and probably didn’t have to do as much as what Star needed to do to attract those players to this market,” the fund manager, who did not wish to be identified due to the sensitivities of the high roller business, said.

But high roller rooms are not where the big money is made.

“Crown had the advantage on that part of the business, but it’s worth remembering. It’s not the best part of the business,” he said.

“The grind, that’s where you make your margin. That’s 80 per cent of your profit.”

Media Man Tourism: Crown’s Sydney casino to open next month

Crown’s Sydney casino to open next month

The Crown gaming empire’s flagship skyscraper on Sydney Harbour will open its luxury casino in two weeks.

“The doors to Australia’s only VIP casino will begin opening to members and guests from 08.08.2022,” Crown said in a statement on Monday.

Crown had been prevented from opening the casino in its $2.2 billion dining and hotel tower in Barangaroo for more than a year.

The opening was delayed and then blocked after an inquiry led by former Supreme Court judge Patricia Bergin found Crown was not fit to operate a casino.

Last month the troubled gambling behemoth was given approval by the NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority for the members-only gaming facilities inside the upscale Barangaroo complex to finally open on a conditional basis.

The conditional period, which will run for 18 to 24 months, will allow the authority to monitor changes made at Crown Sydney and ensure they are “embedded” in the business.

“The opening of our gaming operations at Crown Sydney is a defining moment for Crown, and the culmination of months of hard work from our dedicated team,” Crown Sydney CEO Simon McGrath said.

“The entire team at Crown Sydney has been preparing for this moment for a long time and we felt the symbolism of the 08.08 date represented ideal timing to open our doors.”

The number eight is believed to be the luckiest number in China because eight is associated with wealth.

LGA chair Philip Crawford said last month the Bergin inquiry highlighted the scale and scope of issues to be remedied by Crown, with potentially billions of dollars having been laundered through its casinos.

“With a complete clean-out of the board and senior executive, Crown has made significant progress and has agreed to ongoing work to regain its casino licence,” he said in a statement.

Crown says its gaming operations are set “over two luxurious VIP gaming floors – Crystal Room and Mahogany Room – with 12 additional exclusive private Sky Salons located on levels 28 and 29”.

The facilities accommodate approximately 160 gaming tables and 70 electronic table games.

The Crystal Room gaming floor will open on day one, with Mahogany Room set to open at a later date.

“We are committed to delivering a safe and responsible gaming environment for all, and Crown Sydney’s restricted gaming facility has been designed with the highest levels of governance and compliance,” Mr McGrath said.

All patrons are required to be a member or guest of a member and undergo comprehensive checks.

“The gaming floors at Crown Sydney set a new standard in luxury and elegance,” Mr McGrath said.

The once-listed Crown is being taken private by US investment firm Blackstone after a successful $8.9 billion takeover was ticked off last month.