In the first management shake-up since Wynn Las Vegas opened in April, gaming industry veteran Andrew Pascal on Thursday was named president and chief operating officer of the property.

He succeeded Marc Schorr, who will continue as chief operating officer of the holding company, Wynn Resorts Ltd.

While Wynn executives were not available for comment, a company statement said Pascal will be responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the resort.

Meanwhile, Schorr will concentrate on the last stages of planning for the opening of Wynn Macau, which is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2006, and on the future development of the company's Las Vegas real estate assets.

Brian Gordon, a partner in Applied Analysis, a Las Vegas-based financial consulting company, said the reorganization and its timing make sense for local developer Steve Wynn.

"Wynn (Las Vegas) is cooking on all cylinders in a very healthy market as well as expanding, so it makes sense to have a division of responsibilities within the company," he said.

"As Wynn Resorts continues to expand, the senior management group naturally will expand as well," Gordon said. "Now, Schorr can divest himself of some of the day-to-day responsibilities and focus on future expansion opportunities. And Pascal's promotion is obviously warranted, given his experience in the industry."

Pascal, who was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Wynn Las Vegas, has been with Wynn Resorts since 2003. He has more than 15 years of casino industry experience beginning with the Golden Nugget and continuing with the opening and operation of The Mirage.

He was co-founder of Silicon Gaming, a Silicon Valley company that developed and manufactured slot machine products using hologram technology.

Following the sale of Silicon Gaming to International Game Technology, he became president of WagerWorks, where he guided that company through its early development of Internet gaming software.

However, University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor Bill Thompson, who specializes in gaming studies, said: "Part of this is a family relationship and there is good and bad in that. In Pascal, (Steve) Wynn has someone he can probably work with closely, and perhaps control since he's picked someone he's known for a long time, but there is also the appearance of nepotism in the choice," he said.

Pascal is a nephew of Wynn's wife, Elaine.

Thompson said the move is particularly important for freeing Wynn and Schorr to focus on Macau.

"Macau is going to be a gold mine if the Chinese never take it over. And since Wynn can keep selling sublicenses in Macau, there's almost no way he can lose in the short run," Thompson said.

"If he runs short of cash, he can sell another sublicense. Meanwhile, casinos in Macau themselves will be a huge success," he said.