Fontainebleau Las Vegas names seasoned executive Mark Tricano as property President

The Fontainebleau Las Vegas Strip resort on Monday announced that it has named Mark Tricano as President of the property, which is slated to open this December. Tricano assumes a role that was provisionally held by Brett Mufson, who now serves as CEO. Tricano was previously part of Galaxy Entertainment's team, where he spent over three years as senior vice president of gaming development and optimization.

“It is a tremendous honor to take on the responsibility of leading the Las Vegas team toward a defining moment in Las Vegas history,” Tricano said in a statement. “Fontainebleau Development’s leadership has conceived this resort with a unique, independent vision that sets it apart from everything there is, and anything there has ever been on the Strip.”

Before joining Galaxy, Tricano served as the senior vice president of operations at JACK Entertainment regional casinos in Ohio for 44 months. Prior to that, Tricano was the general manager of Red Rock in Summerlin, and before that, he spent over six years at Harrah’s Entertainment. There he served in various positions including the director of planning and analysis in June 2006, followed by vice president and assistant general manager in September 2010. 

Fontainebleau has also announced the additions of Michelle Reda as chief casino marketing officer and Kimberly Virtuoso as senior vice president of people.
Reda has previously served in various roles at Wynn Resorts for over 13 years, including as vice president of casino marketing. She has also worked at Caesars Entertainment and Station Casinos prior to joining Wynn. For her part, Virtuoso has worked at MGM Resorts as the executive director of corporate human resources. 

Fontainebleau nearing completion

The Fountainbleau casino and resort has been in the making for nearly 16 years. The project began in 2007 amid the real estate bubble and was expected to open in October 2009. However, the work was stopped during the Great Recession owing to bankruptcy.

As per the news agency AP, the project changed several hands and was started again in 2018 by Steven Witkoff and Miami-based investment firm New Valley, who bought the establishment for $600 million. The resort even got a new name Drew Las Vegas. However, the project was short-lived owing to the pandemic.

A year later, the resort was reacquired by Jeffrey Soffer, one of the original Fontainebleau Las Vegas developers, who at the time noted that the property was 75% complete and said it was in “mint condition.” Earlier this month, Soffer celebrated the blue tower as a symbol of resilience and determination, by saying: “The arrival of Fontainebleau Las Vegas is a monumental achievement following years of anticipation and brings full circle our vision of hosting the iconic Fontainebleau brand on the Strip.”

The Fountainbleau resort is named after Miami Beach’s 1950s-era Fontainebleau hotel. The resort, one of the tallest buildings in Nevada, will house 3700 rooms and more than 550,000 square feet of convention space. The integrated resort is located at the north end of the Strip, at the corner of Elvis Presley Boulevard.