Caesars Palace’s longest-serving president dies at 71

Gary Selesner was the longest-serving president ever at Caesars Palace. But that duration does not paint the complete picture of his career.

Selesner was responsible for some of the most distinctive and successful restaurants, shows and amenities during the resort’s remarkable evolution over the past two decades.

Popular among customers and colleagues and highly regarded in the resort industry, Selesner died Monday at age 71. No cause has yet been reported, but Selesner had been in ill health for months.

Selesner had been president of Caesars Palace from 2001-22, and an exec with the company for nearly 24 years up until his recent retirement.

Selesner spoke of Caesars’ ongoing vision during the hotel’s 50th anniversary in 1966, “We continue to reinvent Rome, and Las Vegas.”

‘Dedicated mentor’

In a statement, the company referred to Selesner’s impact on Caesars Palace, and the Strip, as “indelible.”

“Gary was a big thinker whose curiosity and relentless positivity fueled what would become iconic partnerships, bringing culinary leaders and A-list entertainers to the Las Vegas Strip,” the company stated. “While Gary’s legacy lives on across our marquees and our menus, he will be most remembered as a devoted family man and dedicated mentor who put his family and the people around him first at every turn.”

In his role as regional president, Selesner was the lead executive at Caesars Palace and also Rio, Bally’s (now Horseshoe), Planet Hollywood and Harrah’s.

The company went on:

“Without Gary’s spark, the Strip feels dimmer, but his passion for travel, food and hospitality will live on in the foundation he created at Caesars Palace. All of us who knew him will forever be inspired by his love of the world and commitment to uplifting everyone around him. Our hearts go out to his wife, Peggy, and their children, who were the heart of his world, and the many friends and colleagues he mentored and touched throughout his incredible career.”

A Vegas innovator

Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg said in a statement noted Selesner’s innovative approach to resort management.

“Gary embodied everything we hope to be in the hospitality industry. He had a deep commitment to his fellow Team Members, a vision for what a casino and resort could be, and the willingness to pursue the best and most innovative ideas,” Reeg said. “The partnerships that Gary incubated as President of Caesars Palace, with iconic names in the industry, including Gordon Ramsay and Nobu Hotels, are now embedded in Caesars Entertainment across the country.

“Our properties and company are forever changed because of Gary’s vision, tenacity and commitment to people.”

Belief in Spiegelworld

Word of Selesner’s passing was posted on social media by Spiegelworld, the adventurous production company Selesner helped bring to Las Vegas in 2011. He pushed to open, and keep running, “Absinthe,” Spiegelworld’s flagship production.

Selesner continued to support the show when it seemed it might be uprooting from its tent on Roman Plaza after its initial six-month contract.

“Without the belief and support of Gary we would have never opened, and certainly never survived,” Spiegelworld founder Ross Mollison said at the show’s 13th anniversary in April, which Selesner did not attend. “He was the only one who supported ‘Absinthe’ from the beginning.”

A noted foodie whose social-media feed was filled with photos and reviews of dining destinations, Selesner led the partnerships with such critically acclaimed restaurants as Mr. Chow’s, Gordon Ramsay Pub, Restaurant Guy Savoy (the only U.S. restaurant of the iconic Michelin three-star French chef).

In Selesner’s tenure, Caesars Palace was expanded to 4,000 rooms, with the Laurel Collection consisting of Augustus and Octavius towers with their fancy villa suites. Caesars also opened the first Nobu Hotel, a luxury Asian-styled boutique hotel, just above the world’s largest Nobu Restaurant.

An eye for entertainment

Selesner was at his post during the opening and refresh of the Colosseum, the stage for such trailblazing headliners as Celine Dion, Jerry Seinfeld, Elton John, Rod Stewart and Reba and Brooks & Dunn.

Prior to joining Caesars, Selesner ran the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, and before that Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Selesner earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arizona in 1976.

Selesner was a congenial executive who was eager to chat about all facets of hospitality. In August 2018, he attended the workshop performance in New York City of what today is “DiscoShow” at Linq Hotel. Selesner danced and grinned throughout the under-development production, which premiered on the Strip just last week.

In April 2023, he took part in a hardhat tour of the under-development Spiegelworld show “The Hook” at Warner Theater at Caesars Atlantic City. He returned in July for the show’s premiere, again in support of Mollison’s company.

In its post announcing Selesner’s death, Mollison wrote of Peggy Selesner’s recent visit to the new Diner Ross. The producer referred to Selesner’s high-school alma mater, Walt Whitman High School, and quoted from the poet: “‘O Captain! My captain! Rise up and hear the bells. Rise up — for you the flag is flung — for you the bugle trills.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.