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Tropicana May Get Aggressive with Mon at Helm

The appointment of Hector Mon as president of the Las Vegas Tropicana hotel-casino, effective Jan. 6, may signal a more aggressive approach by Aztar Corp. toward reinvigorating the aging Strip resort, which hasn't been able to compete effectively with newer Las Vegas hotel-casinos.

Mon, 46, was recently named to the Tropicana post after serving as former president of Nevada operations for Harrah's Entertainment.

Aztar has been cautious about investing large amounts of capital to upgrade the Tropicana, partly because of its joint ownership of the property and partly because company executives wanted to assess the Las Vegas market's ability to absorb the four new megaresorts that opened here within the past year.

But the announcement of Mon's appointment reinforced Aztar executives' long-standing recognition of the Tropicana's strategic location at the southeast corner of the Strip and Tropicana Avenue, as well as the intrinsic value of the 34-acre site.

The announcement said Aztar considers the Tropicana "a prime growth opportunity," and quoted Dennis Gomes as saying, "Hiring Hector Mon is an important step forward for Aztar. He is a proven leader with the skills we need to take the Tropicana Las Vegas into the future," said Gomes, president of resort operations for the company. Mon will report to Gomes.

"Short term, he will ensure that the performance of the Tropicana continues to improve," said Gomes. "Long term he will play a key role in developing and implementing the strategy that best capitalizes on this great asset."

Mon earned high marks from gaming industry executives during his ascent through the corporate ranks at Harrah's and for his service as past chairman of the Nevada Resort Association and the Nevada chapter of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

"The big reason I'm taking this job is that I see a lot of opportunity there," Mon said in an interview. "It's a prime piece of real estate in Las Vegas that has enormous development potential.

"The first order of business, though, will be to assume responsibility for the property, learn about its operation and make sure it's operating up to its maximum capacity in its current condition."

Over the longer term, Mon said, he'd work with Gomes, Aztar Chairman Paul Rubeli and other company executives to develop a strategic plan to make the 1,872-room hotel-casino competitive with new Strip resorts.

The hotel and its 85,000-square-foot casino -- small by Strip standards -- are owned by a partnership between Aztar and the Jaffe family of Chicago. Aztar has an option to buy the Jaffe stake for $120 million, which would allow it freer rein to develop the resort.

Aztar also owns the 1,624-room Atlantic City Tropicana hotel-casino, the 1,500-room Ramada Express in Laughlin, and riverboats in Evansville, Inc., and Caruthersville, Mo.

The company recently reported third-quarter net income of $8.2 million, or 17 cents a share, up from net of $5.6 million, or 12 cents a share, in the 1998 third period. Revenue rose to $208.8 million from $210.1 million.

Mon served with Harrah's in several capacities, most recently as a division president overseeing the company's four Nevada hotel-casinos. He resigned from that post last year and was soon contacted by an Aztar board member asking about his plans for the future.

The discussions continued periodically, but heated up after former Tropicana President Jonathan Swain left to assume a similar post at the Hard Rock hotel-casino in August.

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