Congratulations — I think — to new Harrah's Entertainment General Counsel Timothy R. Donovan. A graduate of The Ohio State University, Mr. Donovan comes to Harrah's by way of the garbage industry. Considering that picking up the trash around Harrah's properties has sunk to a very low order of priority, maybe he can put CEO Gary Loveman in touch with an affordable waste-disposal provider. In any event, bringing a veteran of the garbage-removal business into a trashed company is priceless in its symbolism.
The man who wouldn't leave. In case you hadn't heard, not only is the bankruptcy auction for the long-suffering Tropicana Atlantic City expected to drag into the summer, that won't be the end of Gary Stein's dilly-dallying trusteeship. No, not by a long chalk! After all, the new buyer will have to be vetted by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, which means that Stein's sinecure will become a two-year gig, extending into December … at least.
In the meantime, the splitting of Tropicana Entertainment into components that can be termed "Las Vegas" and "Everything Else" continues apace. It's being underwritten by $150 million from Carl Icahn. But there are limits to Icahn's generosity, as his loan comes attached with a 15% interest rate.
Remember how S&G predicted that transfer of management of the Tropicana Las Vegas to former MGM Grand boss Alex Yemenidjian looked like the start of a sale. Sho' nuff! Yemenidjian's backers, Canadian Onex Corp. will control the majority of the board. The LV Trop has been a manifestly low priority for TropEnt CEO Scott Butera, who been's primarily fixated on Atlantic City (and secondarily on Indiana). A shift of directorship to a company whose first and only priority will be Las Vegas is to be welcomed.
