Vol. 7 No. 9, September 2008

Interview with Scott Butera, President, Tropicana Entertainment

This week, the Global Gaming Business Podcast features an encore interview with Scott Butera, the president of Tropicana Entertainment, a subsidiary of Columbia Sussex, which owns the Tropicana in Las Vegas and lost the license to a property with the same name in Atlantic City. Butera is recognized as a turnaround artist from the time that Donald Trump plucked him off Wall Street to lead the effort to help the Trump organization emerge from bankruptcy. As president of Tropicana, Butera has an equal if not a greater challenge to turn around the fortunes and reputation of one of gaming’s most important mid-level companies. He explains how he moved Bill Yung out of the picture and why he hopes to regain ownership of the Tropicana in Atlantic City. He spoke with Global Gaming Business Publisher Roger Gros in September at his offices in the Tropicana in Las Vegas.

By Roger Gros

Roger Gros is publisher of Casino Connection International, LLC. Global Gaming Business magazine, Casino Connection Atlantic City and Casino Connection Nevada are among the monthly publications Gros publishes. Prior to joining CCI, Gros was president of Inlet Communications, an independent consulting firm. He was vice president of Casino Journal Publishing Group from 1984-2000, and held virtually every editorial title during his tenure. Gros was editor of Casino Journal, the National Gaming Summary and the Atlantic City Insider, and was the founding editor of Casino Player magazine. He was a co-founder of the American Gaming Summit and the Southern Gaming Summit conferences and trade shows. He is the author of the best-selling book, How to Win at Casino Gambling (Carlton Books, 1995), now in its third edition. Gros was named “Businessman of the Year” for 1998 by the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce.