Cosmo: Unwin out

Whatever Blackstone Group plans for The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, it doesn’t include CEO John Unwin, who will leave at year’s end. Don’t cry for him just yet: He’ll temporarily be on a consulting contract, which conveniently keeps him for peddling his skills elsewhere. In his five years at the helm, Unwin was able to create a cachet for the oddly designed resort but was never able to record a profitable quarter nor to generate significant gambling revenue until very recently. No need to worry for Unwin, though, as he leaves the Cosmo a very wealthy man.

Nor is this necessarily a good thing for the Cosmo. Unwin could at least drive revenue through everything but the casino and the place did achieve a vibe as a place to see and be seen that nearby Aria has never achieved. He will probably be replaced by private equity pencil pushers, as the blundering of clueless, cold private equity into the casino sphere has probably been the single worst development in the industry in the last 20 years. Blackstone Group’s takeover of the Cosmo is expected to close sometime in December, which leaves the fund with very little time to find a new CEO.

Unwin would say no more than, “My task was to create a new type of luxury casino resort that would bring something different to the city while encapsulating the best of what Las Vegas has to offer. I have worked with an amazing team over the past five years to achieve that goal,” which seems a truthful resume of his accomplishment. Generally speaking, the Cosmo makes less than 20% of its revenue from gaming, which makes it a somewhat exaggerated version of the current Vegas revenue model. Blackstone, which is a real estate speculator with extensive holdings in Nevada, hardly seems the candidate to redress that imbalance.

* Maintenance continues to be a low-priority item at Caesars Entertainment. CEO Gary Loveman seems to find upkeep of existing properties boring (accelerating their depreciation) and is forever in pursuit of The Next Big Thing.

* Congratulations to MGM Resorts International Senior Vice President of Public Relations Jenn Michaels, who has been named to the first-ever “Top Women in PR” honors list, compiled by PR News. Michaels is the only casino-industry professional to make the list.