Vol.4, No. 7, July 2008
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Mark Juliano CEO, COO Trump Entertainment Resorts Atlantic City
Gambling mecca readies Juliano for worldwide success
Unlike many, he did it twice.
This industry icon, now CEO and COO of Trump Entertainment Resorts in Atlantic City, experienced Nevada 12 years apart. He helped develop Caesars’ Far East market in the early ‘90s and its $600 million mega-expansion for the new millennium. Juliano also directed Caesars’ development in Indiana and Nova Scotia, ran slot operations at Dover Downs in Delaware and has a rare industry viewpoint. He has directed major operations in the nation’s two largest gaming markets—as president of Caesars Palace, Trump and Caesars in Atlantic City and as head of the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority.
He regards both gaming centers as specialized and successful.
“I don’t really see a huge competitive struggle between the cities,” Juliano said. “There are so many things that Atlantic City can’t handle that are still better suited for Las Vegas. Atlantic City will still get its international players and those with the multi-million dollar credit line, but the focus now is to make this an easy to fly, easy to drive to resort destination. Atlantic City is still more moderately sized, compared to Las Vegas.
“The markets do have a lot of similarities, though. They are going through a rough cycle, but that’s going to pass.”
Juliano, who began his career as a showroom captain at Resorts in Atlantic City, was a 13-year veteran when Las Vegas first beckoned. As president of Caesars World Marketing, he nurtured and developed customers in places like Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea. For Las Vegas, it’s a significant feeder market.
“It was terrific for my career,” Juliano recalled. “It was a great opportunity to travel throughout the world, see what customers who live in different countries think of Las Vegas and what goes into their decision-making process when they make a trip. Travel is positively the best way to educate yourself about everything.
“You come to appreciate the power of the world as opposed to the parochial experience of only knowing the area where you live. Before then, I had only been in one market.”
Las Vegas Act II occurred when Park Place President Wally Barr tapped Juliano for what he termed the rebuilding of Rome. The company responded with strong profits and re-emerged as a major focal point on the Strip.
“The best thing about the company at that time was having most famous piece of real estate in the entire world,” Juliano said.
“From the standpoint of building up your property, it you are not going to spend the money there, spending it anywhere else would have been second best. The property had not been taken care of. There had been so many ownership changes, it had fallen into neglect. Not until Bally and Arthur Goldberg and Wally Barr came in did things turn around.”
The comeback of Rome unfolded. It included celebrity chef Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill and the third Forum addition. It meant a remodeled hotel lobby, a new Augustus tower and 1,000 more rooms. Earnings surged. Employee pride grew. The new Caesars embraced the new Vegas.
“When I left the first time, the population of Vegas was about 600,000,” Juliano said. “When I came back, it was 2 million. Not only did the Strip change dramatically because of MGM, Bellagio and Venetian, etc., but there were numerous other changes. The city pushed out further. It provided enormous choice, a good quality of neighborhoods. The schools had improved dramatically. Like any town that grows, they struggle for awhile to keep the infrastructure up, and then it all comes together. We found it an entirely different place and a wonderful environment for our (five) children.
“The second Las Vegas period also provided a chance to develop relationships with important providers of both entertainment services and restaurants,” Juliano says. “Those relationships exist today and have helped both in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.”
Juliano holds a slew of community and tourism awards in Nevada and New Jersey. In the casino world, he is revered for strong yet flexible leadership.
Smooth and relatively low key, Juliano enables others to implement his big-picture plan.
“This has become a wonderful experience and a little surprising for me in that regard,” Juliano said of his gaming career. “When I started at Resorts, all I knew is that I loved the industry and was determined to be successful.
“I would like to think that I have developed good listening skills. If you listen and kind of get absorbed in what you are hearing, rather than constantly talking, you are ahead. You are not learning anything when you are thinking only about what you are going to say. Listen and then you will learn.”
By that standard, he has listened well.
