Casino boss John Redmond appointed new CEO at Echo Entertainment

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Former Las Vegas casino boss John Redmond is the new top dog ala CEO at Echo Entertainment.

The new boss at casinos operator Echo Entertainment has made repairing the group’s damaged relationship with the NSW government one of his major priorities.

John Redmond, an American and former senior executive at the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and co-chief executive of international casino and hotel group MGM Grand Mirage, was named Echo’s new chief executive on Wednesday.

The appointment follows a disastrous year for Echo, which included the dismissal of Sydney’s Star Casino manager Sid Vaikunta on sexual harassment claims leading to a regulatory inquiry.

Departing chief executive and fellow American Larry Mullin was forced out, director Brett Paton quit and chairman John Story departed following a bitter public campaign by major shareholder James Packer, the chairman of Echo rival Crown.

“I would like to improve the relationships and communication we have with various stakeholders, which of course would be everything from investors to employees to politicians to regulators,” Mr Redmond said.

“My objective in the short term is not to delve into those issues … I don’t look at that as being of immediate concern and am more focused on enhancing the performance of the properties and shareholder value.”

He would not get into into whether Echo was a takeover target or threatened by Crown and Mr Packer, who plans to build a rival high roller casino and hotel at Sydney’s Barangaroo site.

Mr Packer has also applied to regulators to increase his Echo stake from 10 to 25%, as has Asian gaming giant Genting.

Stay turned to Media Man and Casino News Media for more on the Australian casino wars, with Echo Entertainment VS Crown Limited being the main event attraction.