2 top executives at SLS Las Vegas step down

SLS Las Vegas President Terry Downey and Chief Financial Officer Bob Schaffhauser have stepped down less than seven months on the job amid an impending change in ownership.

Downey and Schaffhauser were hired by SLS owner Stockbridge Capital Partners in January to help revive the ailing Strip property. Stockbridge subsequently sold the resort to Reno casino owner Alex Meruelo in May. The deal is expected to close by September.

A spokeswoman for the SLS confirmed their departure in an email without stating who is now in charge.

“It is not uncommon to see senior management change when a property is sold,” said John Decree, an industry analyst at Union Gaming. “There could be some more changes.”

Downey ran the independently owned Aliante Hotel for four years before joining the SLS. He and Schaffhauser left the North Las Vegas resort in October when it was taken over by Boyd Gaming Corp.

Prior to joining Aliante, Downey worked 15 years at various Station Casinos properties, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Under the management and Downey and Schaffauser, the SLS has hired at least 12 other Aliante executives, including its chief information officer, director of security and director of slots.

During their short tenure, the executives launched a new loyalty card called Club 52 and closed the Foxtail nightclub.

The SLS has struggled financially since opening in August 2014. The resort lost more than $100 million over the first nine months of 2015, the last time it publicly announced its financials.

Contact Todd Prince at tprince@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0386. Follow @toddprincetv on Twitter.