Casino Enterprise Management

Scott Butera to Take Over the Helm of North America’s Largest Resort Casino Destination

MASHANTUCKET, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council announced today its appointment of Scott Butera as President and CEO of Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises. Butera brings more than two decades of casino and finance industry expertise to the table, having held prominent positions throughout the casino management sector and on Wall Street. The former CEO of Tropicana Entertainment, Butera was lauded by Casino Connection Magazine as a “turnaround artist” who helped the Trump Organization emerge from bankruptcy in 2005. Accordingly, he brings with him a results-driven reputation for improving employee morale and maximizing profit potential.

“We are thrilled to welcome Scott Butera as our new President and CEO of Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods. Mr. Butera is recognized as one of the most innovative business leaders in the gaming industry today,” says Rodney A. Butler, Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council. Mr. Butera is no stranger to economic adversity, and his track record of proven results will undoubtedly boost our team members with confidence as he steers Foxwoods and MGM Grand at Foxwoods into a profitable and prosperous future,” Butler says. “Special thanks are extended to William Sherlock, who has been serving as our Interim President for these past several months and has been instrumental in identifying Mr. Butera for this position. Mr. Sherlock will continue to work with us through the end of December, and has agreed to be available as an advisor in the future as needed,” says Butler.

As President and CEO of the Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises, Mr. Butera will be responsible for providing strategic leadership to position the company as the east coast premiere entertainment destination. Butera will oversee day to day operation, property marketing and development of executive staff, and will advise the Tribal Council as to strategic direction, financial performance and other pertinent developments.

“It’s an honor to be appointed the new President and CEO of Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, and to lead this amazing team of distinguished gaming and resort professionals,” said Butera. “As North America’s largest resort casino, Foxwoods is a true industry leader, and I look forward bringing my own experience and insight to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, who has done so much for the state of Connecticut and this region,” he states.

Prior to his appointment with the Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises, Mr. Butera joined Tropicana Entertainment as President on March 19, 2008, and was the principal architect behind Tropicana’s successful financial and operational restructuring, which represents Mr. Butera’s second multi-billion dollar restructuring in the gaming industry. On June 6, 2008, he was named Chief Executive Officer and appointed a member of the Board of Managers. Mr. Butera is also a member of the Tropicana Entertainment Regulatory Gaming Compliance Committee. On June 30, 2008, Mr. Butera was appointed to the boards of each of Tropicana's direct and indirect Debtor-corporate subsidiaries.

Prior to joining Tropicana Entertainment, Mr. Butera held a number of executive positions in the gaming industry, including as Chief Operating Officer of the Cosmopolitan Resort Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, President of Metroflag Management LLC, a casino resort development company located in Las Vegas, and President, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Vice President of Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, Inc., during which time he was the principal architect of the company's financial and operational restructuring. Mr. Butera also served previously as an Executive Director for UBS Investment Bank, which culminated a fifteen-year career as an investment banker focused on the gaming, lodging, and real estate industries.

Mr. Butera holds a Masters in Business Administration from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business and is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was recently appointed to the Board of Fellows.

About Foxwoods and MGM Grand at Foxwoods

North America’s largest casino, Foxwoods Resort Casino® is located at the Mashantucket Pequot Indian reservation in the midst of the rolling hills of southeastern Connecticut, easily accessible from Boston, New York, Hartford, and Providence. Owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, Foxwoods has something for everyone as the East Coast’s premier entertainment destination. Four award-winning hotels offer accommodations to suit every budget, along with luxury butler-serviced villas, extensive retail offerings, and more than 30 dining establishments featuring everything from world-class gourmet cuisine to casual fare. Six casinos offer non-stop gaming excitement with more than 6,600 slots and 360 table games; 97 poker tables in the only WPT World Poker Room™ on the East Coast; a High Stakes Bingo hall; and Ultimate Race Book. The renowned Norwich Spa at Foxwoods and the tranquil oasis of G-Spa provide the perfect escape to recharge the mind, body, and soul. Meetings and convention goers will find more than 115,000 square feet of meeting space, including the largest column-free ballroom in the northeast, MGM’s 50,000 square foot Premiere Ballroom. Two acoustically-perfected theaters offer weekly entertainment for all ages. The original state-of-the-art Fox Theater, seating 1,400, was opened in 1993 by the legendary Frank Sinatra. The majestic 4,000-seat MGM Grand Theater hosts an impressive variety of weekly headline entertainment. Conveniently located adjacent to Foxwoods is Lake of Isles™, featuring two 18-hole championship golf courses designed by Rees Jones and a state-of-the-art Golf Academy. Foxwoods supports responsible gaming, and plays a leadership role in the Connecticut Council of Problem Gambling, of which it was a founding entity. For more information, call 800-FOXWOODS or visit www.foxwoods.com.

About the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation

The Mashantucket Pequots are a native Algonquin people in southeastern Connecticut who endured centuries of conflict, survival, and continuity on and around one of America’s oldest Indian reservations, established in 1666. As the first native people within the borders of the continental United States to suffer attempted genocidal massacre by Puritan Colonists in 1637, the Pequots and their repatriation is an unprecedented story of restoration exhibited in detail at the Tribe’s world-class Museum and Research Center (www.pequotmuseum.org). Today the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation owns the largest resort casino in the world, Foxwoods Resort Casino (www.foxwoods.com), along with several other economic ventures, including the Lake of Isles Golf Course (www.lakeofisles.com); a joint-venture partnership establishing the MGM Grand at Foxwoods; and Foxwoods Development Company, dedicated to world-class resort development throughout the United States and Caribbean. All together, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation remains one of the State of Connecticut’s highest tax payers and largest employers. Likewise, the Tribe provides significant financial contributions to state and local nonprofit organizations that support neighboring communities.