Former Mandalay Resort Group president dies

Antonio “Tony” Alamo Sr., a Cuban immigrant who climbed the gaming industry corporate ladder from a janitor at Harrah’s in Reno to a top executive of several Las Vegas properties before his 2005 retirement, has died.

He was 84.

His son, Tony Alamo Jr., a former Nevada Gaming Commission chairman, said his father died Tuesday morning of complications from numerous diseases he battled for five years. He died with close family at his side.

A memorial service is scheduled at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church at 10 a.m. Oct. 18, followed by burial at Palm Mortuary-Eastern at 11:30 a.m.

Alamo, born in 1941 in the small village of Isabela de Sagua, Cuba, fled the country in a harrowing three-day boat escape, landing in Miami, in 1961 with $7 in his pocket. He worked odd jobs, moving west, eventually joining his future wife Maria’s extended family in Reno.

Too young to enter the gaming industry, he worked as a janitor at Harrah’s. He later became a coin room operator and delivered newspapers as a second job. Once eligible, he enrolled in a dealer school and mastered dealing craps and blackjack.

Seeking opportunity, he moved his wife and children to Las Vegas and in 1974 began his management career as a shift manager at Circus Circus.

He eventually became president of Circus Circus, moving later to become president of the iconic Desert Inn.

That move led him to the development and opening of what became the largest hotel in the world — MGM Grand — where he became president and chief operating officer.

He then helped develop and build the Monte Carlo, now Park MGM, before turning his attention to the Mandalay Resort Group, where he would retire in 2005 as Mandalay’s senior vice president and capping a career as one of the highest ranking Hispanics in the gaming industry.

Alamo won numerous awards and honors throughout his life.

The Nevada Board of Regents named him a Distinguished Nevadan in 2003, and the Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association named him as Hotelier of the Year in 2001.

The Latin Chamber of Commerce presented him a tourism award in 1984 and also named him “Hispanic of the Year” in 1993. The Public Education Foundation also presented him a Community Hero Award in 2003.

A voracious reader, Alamo had deep interests in financing, investments and politics and was a sports fan favoring boxing and college basketball.

His son said that having fled a totalitarian regime, he cherished the freedoms and opportunities of his adopted country, never hesitating to speak about the value of democracy as a vocal advocate of civic engagement.

Later in life, he battled Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia for many years.

Alamo was an education advocate who had a Las Vegas elementary school named for him. He made several donations to scholarships at UNLV and was a motivational speaker for the Hispanic Youth Leadership Conference at the university, co-sponsored by the Latin Chamber of Commerce.

Clark County School District Superintendent Jhone Ebert said Alamo was a passionate advocate of freedom, integrity and education.

“We are saddened to hear of the passing of CCSD school namesake Tony Alamo,” Ebert said in a district statement.

“For more than 20 years, Tony Alamo Elementary School has served students in our community,” she said. “Mr. Alamo was a big supporter of public education and his legacy will live on through the work focused on student achievement happening every day at the school campus that bears his name.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.