Park Place Names Anthony Santo to Head Western and Mid-South Regions; Casino Windsor's Bobby Yee to take over Bally's and Paris Las Vegas

In his new role, Santo will oversee operations of a dozen Park Place casino resorts in Nevada, Mississippi, Indiana and Louisiana, subject to required regulatory approvals and notifications.

Succeeding Santo as president of Paris and Bally's in Las Vegas is Bobby Yee, currently president and chief executive officer of Casino Windsor in Ontario, Canada. Both appointments are effective May 1.

A 22-year veteran of the gaming industry, Santo has extensive experience in all aspects of the casino resort business. He previously served as president of the Flamingo Las Vegas, the Reno Hilton and the Flamingo Hilton Reno. Santo also is a member of the board of directors of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the agency responsible for the international promotion of Las Vegas as a travel and tourism destination.

Since October 2000, Santo has been responsible for the operation of Park Place's newest Nevada resort, the 2,916-room Paris Las Vegas. He also has served concurrently as president of the 2,814-room Bally's Las Vegas. Santo began his career at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1981.

"Tony Santo's experience in the casino resort industry is both broad and deep," said Park Place President and Chief Executive Officer Wallace R. Barr. "Tony has a keen talent for seeing the big picture. At the same time, he has a detailed understanding of all the operational issues critical to a property's success.

"By consolidating the responsibility for these two important regions under a single leader, we can achieve even greater operational efficiencies, better promote best practices and work more closely among ourselves to serve our nation-wide customer base," Barr added.

"Bobby Yee is a natural to succeed Tony at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas," Barr said. "He has extensive experience in casino marketing and operations -- and six years of success under his belt as the leader of one of our premier international properties."

Yee, who has more than 25 years of experience in the gaming industry, assumed the top job at Casino Windsor in 1998, after serving as president and chief executive officer of Casino Rama, north of Toronto. He previously held senior management positions with a number of major domestic and international casino companies.

Assuming Yee's position on an interim basis will be Kevin Laforet, currently chief operating officer of Windsor Casino Ltd. Barr said Park Place will conduct an international search for Yee's permanent replacement.

In his new role Santo will have overall responsibility for Paris Las Vegas, Bally's Las Vegas, Flamingo Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Hilton, the Reno Hilton, Flamingo Laughlin, Grand Casino Tunica, Grand Casino Biloxi, Grand Casino Gulfport, the Sheraton Tunica, Bally's Tunica and Bally's New Orleans.

In addition, Santo will assume responsibility for Park Place's interests in LasVegas.com, the company's online joint venture with Mandalay Resort Group. Launched late last year, LasVegas.com is the one-stop Internet source for all things Las Vegas, including hotel reservations, show tickets, car rentals and air travel.

Barr will continue to personally oversee the Eastern region operations of Park Place and the development of the Caesars brand, including operations and any new capital projects at Caesars Palace and Caesars Tahoe in the Western region, Caesars Indiana in the Mid-South region and Caesars Atlantic City in the Eastern region. Santo will coordinate Western and Mid-South regional initiatives with the Caesars properties.

Park Place Entertainment Corporation (NYSE:PPE) is one of the world's leading gaming companies. Park Place owns, manages or has an interest in 27 gaming properties operating under the Caesars, Bally's, Flamingo, Grand Casinos, Hilton and Paris brand names with a total of two million square feet of gaming space, 29,000 hotel rooms and 54,000 employees worldwide.


Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

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