WYNN RESORTS shuffled its top management team at Encore Boston Harbor on Wednesday, removing president Robert DeSalvio and elevating Brian Guilbrants, the head of food and beverage, to replace him.
Rumors have circulated for months that DeSalvio was not going to be the long term leader of the hotel and casino in Everett and that Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox had concerns about the way Encore Boston Harbor was being led.
The company reported revenues for September on Tuesday and the numbers were well below what Wynn Resorts has been projecting, although company officials said it may take three years to ramp up to forecasted revenue levels. The company recently did away with parking fees at Encore Boston Harbor, another bid to entice more customers to the facility.
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About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
A company press release said that DeSalvio decided to step down after five years of leading the Wynn team in Boston and orchestrating the opening of the facility in June. In addition to Guilbrants, Maddox said he was bringing in veteran casino executive Jenny Holaday to be the executive vice president of operations and Boston native Eric Kraus to take over as vice president of communications and public affairs.
Guilbrants has extensive experience in the Wynn organization. He led the opening of the hotel at Encore Las Vegas in 2008 and assumed oversight of both the Encore and Wynn hotels in Las Vegas in 2011. Prior to joining Wynn, Guilbrants held various positions with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel company.
Kraus has strong connections in Boston. According to the company press release, he led global corporate communications and public affairs for The Gillette Company. He also worked as executive vice president of Clean Harbors Inc. in Norwell.
