Inside Gaming: MGM Resorts shores up C-suite, extends 2 top execs

MGM Resorts International has extended the employment terms for two key executives, moves that may be designed to ensure continuity at the top of the company when its highest-ranking executive departs at the end of 2028.

The Las Vegas-based gaming giant filed new employment agreements with Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Halkyard and Chief Commercial Officer Gary Fritz, both effective Oct. 1.

Under his new deal, Halkyard will remain with MGM through September 2029, earning a base salary of $1.25 million and an annual target bonus equal to 150 percent of that amount. The agreement also provides annual equity awards valued at $3.1 million, split evenly between performance share units and restricted stock units.

A separate Form 4 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows that Halkyard recently received 46,065 restricted stock units, worth roughly $1.5 million at current market prices, marking the first installment of his new incentive plan. He now directly owns about 114,000 shares of MGM stock, valued at roughly $3.6 million based on Monday’s closing price of $31.57.

Fritz, who oversees MGM’s digital business, agreed to a three-year contract through 2028 that includes a $1.5 million base salary, a 175 percent target bonus and annual equity grants valued at $4.5 million. His deal also includes specific performance incentives tied to BetMGM’s profitability and the launch of new digital offerings.

MGM Resorts President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle is under contract through 2028. Hornbuckle, 67, was offered an advisory role at the conclusion of his current term to assist with the opening of the company’s yet-to-be-completed casino resort in Osaka, Japan.

Halkyard is on a short list of internal candidates who could succeed Hornbuckle, according to company insiders.

New GMs named at MGM Resorts casinos

MGM Resorts International has named four new general managers to lead five of its Las Vegas resorts, all promoted from within the company, according to an internal company memo.

Mark Czerniak will serve as general manager of Bellagio. He previously worked as CFO for Bellagio and Park MGM, and has held financial leadership roles at MGM Grand, The Signature, and New York-New York since joining MGM Resorts in 2016.

Doug Sandoval will oversee Aria and Vdara, bringing more than two decades of financial experience at premier Las Vegas resorts.

Mark Lefever has been named general manager of The Cosmopolitan. Lefever joined MGM Resorts in 2015 and has held CFO roles at Luxor, Aria/Vdara, MGM Grand/Signature and New York-New York.

Andy Meese will lead Park MGM after more than 25 years in hospitality strategy and operational roles across Mandalay Bay, Delano (now W Las Vegas), Luxor, CityCenter and Bellagio.

Czerniak will report to Ayesha Molino, who will become MGM Resorts’ chief operating officer on Jan. 1, succeeding the retiring Corey Sanders. Sandoval, Lefever and Meese report to Sean Lanni, president and COO of The Cosmopolitan, who recently expanded his oversight to Aria, Vdara and Park MGM.

Gambler refuses to concede legal fight with Strip megaresort

An attorney for high-stakes gambler Robert “R.J.” Cipriani urged a Ninth Circuit panel on Oct. 6 in Las Vegas to revive his lawsuit against Resorts World Las Vegas and former president Scott Sibella. Cipriani, who goes by the X handle “RobinHood 702,” has been pressing his case for several years, arguing that the casino allowed another gambler to harass him for weeks.

Attorney Mitchell Keiter said the lower court wrongly dismissed Cipriani’s case by relying on judicial estoppel, a legal principle meant to stop people from taking inconsistent positions in court. He argued that Cipriani’s claims never changed in substance and that Resorts World failed to intervene until the situation “got out of hand.”

Resorts World attorney Tamara Beatty Peterson said Cipriani’s story shifted between filings, while the defense for Sibella argued he could not be held personally responsible under negligence or “innkeeper” liability laws.

U.S. Circuit Judge Gabriel Sanchez questioned whether Cipriani actually gained any unfair advantage by changing his pleadings, saying he was “still struggling to find out what that advantage is.”

Keiter told the Review-Journal he was “very happy” with how the proceeding went.

The three-judge panel heard arguments but did not issue a decision, taking the matter under submission.

Golden State bans sweepstakes casinos

California will make sweepstakes casinos illegal starting Jan. 1 after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 831 into law Saturday. The bill passed through the state Legislature unanimously.

The measure, supported by the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, is meant to protect the exclusive rights of tribal nations to operate gaming in the state. CNIGA argued that sweepstakes casinos, online platforms that lets users play casino-style games, infringed on those rights.

The move represents a major blow to the sweepstakes industry. California, the nation’s most populous state with more than 39 million residents, dwarfs other states considering similar legislation, including New York, where a bill still awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature. Florida, the third-largest state, recently failed to pass a sweepstakes ban.

Industry groups had urged Newsom to veto the bill. The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance cited a study showing 85 percent of Californians favor regulating and taxing sweepstakes operators. Executive Director Jeff Duncan warned that AB 831 could remove $1 billion from the state economy and hinder digital gaming innovation.

Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0378. Follow @AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.