‘I’m not retiring’: Palms general manager steps down

A gaming industry veteran at an off-Strip casino is leaving her top post.

Palms General Manager Cynthia Kiser Murphey resigned to spend time with family out of state, she said Thursday. Her last day is June 30.

“I’m super proud of how this team has really launched this property and turned the property from being closed for two years and opening it. I’m profoundly proud of the level of hospitality,” Kiser Murphey told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I really believe the Palms is going to get more and more successful in the future. My leaving has to do with what I want to do with my time, and I need to go do some other things.”

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, operators of the Yamaava’ resort-casino in Southern California, purchased the Palms in 2021 from Red Rock Resorts for $650 million, making them the first Native American casino owners and operators in Las Vegas. Kiser Murphey, a longtime MGM Resorts International executive, was the first exec to be named in the Palms’ leadership group in September of that year.

The 22-year-old resort reopened to the public in April 2022 after two years closed during the COVID-19 pandemic and less than a year after the deal was first announced.

Kiser Murphey was the president and chief operating officer of New York-New York between 2008 and 2020. Before that, Kiser Murphey held other leadership roles at MGM Resorts including senior vice president of MGM Mirage Human Resources. She became chief executive officer at a large benefits fund after leaving MGM. An alumna of University of Nevada Las Vegas’ hospitality program, she was also previously an adjunct professor.

“I’m not retiring,” Kiser Murphey said. “I have a lot of opportunities to do some projects, but I want to wait. I think I’m going to take a minute to figure it out.”

Leaders with the San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority, the tribal entity that owns the Palms, did not specify who will lead the property in the interim.

“We are grateful to Cynthia for the leadership and enthusiasm she provided to reopening this iconic property,” chairperson Latisha Prieto said in a statement. “She inspired our team members to service excellence and made history with the San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority. She is a role model for women in leadership and exemplified our vision for what women can accomplish in this industry.”

Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.