Gaming industry veteran Paul V. Pusateri has been named chief operating officer of the US$3.5 billion Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas.
He also will serve as general manager of its centerpiece, the 1,000 hotel rooms and 100,000-square-foot casino constituting Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, scheduled to open in December 2014 under contract with William Weidner’s Global Gaming Asset Management.
“Paul’s experience in developing, opening and operating successful casinos and luxury resorts will help us to position Baha Mar as a premier global gaming destination,” said Sarkis Izmirlian, chairman and CEO of the sprawling 1,000-acre beachfront development, billed as the largest single-phase resort project in the history of the Caribbean.
Mr Pusateri most recently was COO of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas and prior to that was president of the Palms Casino Resort and Palms Place, an off-Strip boutique property famous, like the Hard Rock, for its nightlife and culinary attractions. He is a former senior vice president of The Venetian and The Palazzo resorts on the Strip, both owned by Las Vegas Sands, which Mr Weidner guided for years as president and chief operating officer.
Mr Pusateri joined the gaming industry in 1996 as president of Paris Las Vegas, which he helped open while serving as president of its sister property Bally’s Las Vegas. He started his career with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts.
Mr Izmirlian hailed him for “his casino and hospitality management skills” which he said “will help us to recruit, train and develop the best employees … which will be essential to our long-term success.”
Located near Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport and largely Chinese-funded, Baha Mar will feature Rosewood, Mondrian and Grand Hyatt hotels, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, an array of restaurants, nightclubs and lounges, a luxury spa, a 2,000-seat theater, an art gallery and 20 acres of beachfront amenities.
Plans for the casino call for 1,500 machine games and 150 live tables.
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