K is OK as Treasure Island joins network

Phil Ruffin spent $775 million to buy Treasure Island from MGM Mirage. But going solo took the property out of the company’s large customer database.

The Strip resort has found a new source for clientele.

Treasure Island is now part of K Hotels, a collection of some 50 worldwide independently owned, boutique sized hotels.

For example, the Bali Island Villas & Spa, in Indonesia, has just 10 self-contained luxury villas.

With 2,885 hotel rooms and suites, Treasure Island is the largest offering for K Hotel customers, its only Las Vegas property and the collection’s first hotel-casino.

K Hotels Managing Director Kara Weiss said the company will develop a specialized marketing plan for Treasure Island. Rooms at the resort can now be booked through the K Hotels Web site.

“Being an established property in today’s market is not enough,” Treasure Island General Manager Najam Khan said. “We need to reach out to new customers.”

K Hotels markets rooms for resorts in Europe, South America, Mexico, the Mediterranean, Central America and Asia.

In the United States, K Hotels markets rooms for hotels in New York City, Seattle, Miami Beach, and throughout California.

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NV Energy is raiding the gaming industry to fill its corporate management slots.

Boyd Gaming Corp. Vice President of Corporate Communications Rob Stillwell recently resigned to accept a similar role with NV Energy. Stillwell, who starts in August, spent 14 years with Boyd.

The move follows the April hiring of Punam Mather from MGM Mirage to be vice president of human resources.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that NV Energy has eyes for gaming. Four members of its 11-person board of directors come from the casino industry.

Chairman Phil Satre is the retired longtime chairman and chief executive officer of Harrah’s Entertainment.

Other directors from gaming are retired Station Casinos Chief Financial Officer Glenn Christenson, former International Game Technology CFO Maureen Mullarkey and ex-Boyd President Don Snyder.

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The gaming industry lost a visionary on July 5 with the passing of Bernie Goldstein, chairman of Isle of Capri Casinos.

Goldstein opened the nation’s first legal riverboat casino in April 1991, the M/V Diamond Lady in Bettendorf, Iowa. He was the pivotal figure in lobbying the state to pass the original legislation.

In August 1992, Goldstein opened Mississippi’s first riverboat casino, the Isle of Capri Casino in Biloxi.

He retired as CEO in 2008 after building the company into a regional casino power with resorts in Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Iowa, Colorado and Florida.

Howard Stutz’s Inside Gaming column appears Sundays. E-mail him at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or call 702-477-3871. He blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/stutz.