Fontainebleau Sees Major Management ShakeupsCompany Possibly Looks To Add Miami Casino |
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Since opening in December, the Fontainebleau casino has already seen three executives leave positions at the company. The latest two exits came last week with Chief Operating Officer Colleen Birch and Chief Marketing Officer Shane Smith leaving after voluntary resignations, according to the company.
Those moves follow Senior Vice President of Casino Operations Michael Clifford also leaving the property. The $3.7 billion casino and hotel opened with plenty of fanfare on Dec. 18, but the quick turnover of employees in major leadership positions may surprise some in the industry.
Major Leadership Changes
Birch had been with the company since November 2022 after previously serving as vice president of revenue optimization at The Cosmopolitan. Smith began working for the company in January 2023.
Both also have been tied to the long-delayed Fontainebleau property. Birch worked as a revenue management director for the company in 2008. Smith also had a stint with the Witkoff real estate development firm, which owned the property before Fontainebleau Development reacquired the project.
Clifford started at the casino in February and resigned in December. He previously worked as a manager of Crockford’s Gaming at Resorts World in 2021 and also worked at Macau’s Wynn Palace and with MGM Resorts in several positions.
The management upheaval adds to an already-interesting history for Fontainebleau. Initially scheduled to open in 2008, the property faced lawsuits, numerous financial issues including bankruptcy, and ownership changes that led to years of delays.
Is Fontainebleau Owner Working To Add A Miami Casino?
In other Fontainebleau Development news, company owner Jeffrey Soffer has long sought to add gambling to the company’s namesake Miami Beach resort.
Reports have surfaced that he recently donated $300,000 to the Republican Party of Florida and related political action committees. The moves come as a new bill was introduced in the state senate in December that would allow gaming permit holders to transfer these to different properties as long as they are located within a 30-mile radius of the current site.
The plan would even allow for moving locations despite local regulations against gaming. Soffer owns Big Easy Casino at Hallandale Beach and the plan would allow him to move that gaming permit to Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, according to reports.
The brand could become even more associated with gaming if the casino moves to the Miami Beach location. However, gaming opponents have lined up against the bill.
“It’s an existential threat to our community,” Miami Beach Mayor and longtime gaming opponent Dan Gelber told the Miami Herald.
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