Caesars Entertainment CEO Michael Frissora is one step away from a Nevada gaming license, having been unanimously approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Frissora left the meeting grinning from ear to ear, as well he might. Since he 
comes from one customer-service-intensive industry (car rentals) to another, he brings a major prerequisite that his predecessor at Caesars lacked. Simply put, there’s an experiential component to the casino industry that doesn’t show up on a spread sheet. Frissora was able to mollify the NGCB’s concerns regarding the contentious circumstances that surrounded his departure from Hertz Global Holdings, which said Frissora had made “serious missteps” as CEO. That’s a nice way of saying that Hertz had to restate three years of financial results from the latter part of Frissora’s tenure. Other issues included “certain non-fleet assets, allowances for doubtful accounts in Brazil, as well as other items.”
One of those pushing for Frissora’s removal was investor (and rival casino owner) Carl Icahn, who experienced a “lack of confidence in management.” Despite troubled investor relations, Hertz put a positive spin on Frissora’s departure, saying, “During Mark’s tenure, Hertz has transformed from a single on-airport car rental brand to a world leading rental car company with a portfolio of brands that reach multiple consumer and business segments both on- and off-airport.” The company was less complimentary after the books had been rebalanced and Frissora 
was out the door, saying, “In particular, our former chief executive officer’s management style and temperament created a pressurized operating environment.” Industry consultant Maryann Keller translated that corporate-speak as, “They’re basically saying that the CEO caused other people to act in ways that are unethical. So where does the SEC investigation go now?”
At the NGCB hearing, Frissora conceded that he may have been too hard-driving at Hertz (pun unintended) and his attorneys pointed out that he had not been accused of any wrongdoing. “I am very much aware of what happened at Hertz, and making sure those kinds of things can’t happen here at Caesars,” the new-ish CEO added. He also hinted at a five-year plan for the company’s Las Vegas Strip assets, Phase One of which is refurbishing 4,800 hotel rooms. He also spoke, somewhat vaguely, of “casinos of the future,” undoubtedly alluding to his headline-making reproach of his colleagues for being technologically behind the curve.
At $1.8 million a year, Frissora is a bargain for Caesars, which had been paying ex-CEO Gary Loveman $7.6 million. He also got the endorsement of Fitch Ratings analyst Alex Bumazhny, who said, “With an organization like Caesars where it’s very database-heavy, it seems like a lot of skills that the new CEO will bring in could be transferable.”
* While the Quapaw Tribe is abandoning a lawsuit to force Kansas into allowing Downstream Casino Resort to extend its footprint over the Oklahoma border and into the Sunflower State, we may not have heard the last of this vexatious issue. The tribe could still ask the Interior Department to intervene on its behalf, if it wants to cannibalize its parking lot into additional casino space.
* Regional casinos may have experienced the blahs of late but Colorado‘s are coming off their best January ever. The American Gaming Association reports that they booked $65 million in revenue and generated $11 million in taxes.
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