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The president of Encore Boston Harbor is out after less than four months of the 3M SF resort being open.
Robert DeSalvio has stepped down from his leadership position after overseeing the development and opening of the $2.6B casino just north of downtown Boston, parent company Wynn Resorts announced Wednesday morning. DeSalvio had been at the helm of the project for five years.
Brian Gullbrants, a former Ritz-Carlton executive who most recently oversaw Encore’s food and beverage operations, has been appointed as the casino's new president. Gullbrants previously oversaw the opening of Encore Las Vegas and eventually became the vice president and general manager of both the Encore and Wynn Las Vegas properties.
“Bob DeSalvio’s ability to partner with community leaders and elected officials, assemble a world-class team and lead them to produce and launch a project of the highest quality is remarkable,” Wynn Resorts CEO Matthew Maddox said in a statement. “His unique talent to both manage a complicated construction process while listening to the needs of key stakeholders was essential to our success.”
Along with the leadership shift at the top, Wynn announced Jenny Holaday as Encore Boston Harbor’s new executive vice president of operations and Eric Kraus as senior vice president of communications and public affairs.
While Wynn’s announcement lauds DeSalvio for leadership that “culminated in one of the most successful casino resort openings on the East Coast,” his departure comes as Encore Boston Harbor lags the company’s pre-opening revenue projections.
Wynn Resorts predicted its Boston casino would bring in more than $800M in first-year gross gaming revenue. Encore has brought in a little more than $166M between its June 23 opening and the end of September, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported Tuesday.
The resort’s $49M September gross gaming revenue is down from the $52M it brought in for the month of August. If revenue continues to hover around the $50M/month mark for the remainder of Encore’s first year, it would come in significantly under Wynn’s first-year forecast.
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