Scott Butera, the former commissioner of the Arena Football League and a former Las Vegas and Connecticut hotel-casino president, will join MGM Resorts International to oversee the company’s growing interactive gaming opportunities, which includes sports betting and skill-based gaming.
In a statement Monday, MGM Resorts said Butera’s immediate focus will be on MGM Resorts’ sports betting strategy and expanding operations to new U.S. markets.
Following the May 14th U.S. Supreme Court repeal of the federal ban on sports wagering, MGM Resorts became the first casino operator in Atlantic City to open a sports book when the company began accepting wagers at the Borgata last week.
MGM Resorts has casinos in Michigan, Mississippi and Maryland and is opening a resort in August in Massachusetts. The company is also acquiring a racetrack casino in New York. All four states have either explored or will soon implement sports betting regulations. In Nevada, the company said its sports books accept 4 million wagers annually with a total dollar amount exceeding $1 billion.
“MGM Resorts is well-positioned to bring our decades of experience and well-earned reputation to new markets throughout the country,” MGM Chief Operating Officer Corey Sanders said in a statement. “Scott will play a key role as we continue to expand nationwide.”
Sanders added that Butera’s experience will help the company expand its skill-based gaming presence.
Butera has more than 25 years of experience in the finance and hospitality industries. He oversaw the Arena Football League for several seasons. Previously, he was president Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Connecticut, CEO of Tropicana Entertainment, and COO of the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
Butera left the Arena Football League on March 31 as part of the shakeup of league management. Philadelphia Soul majority owner Ron Jaworski was named chairman of the league’s executive committee. Butera was named commissioner of the AFL after the 2014 season. During his tenure, the league contracted, shrinking from a 12-team nationwide circuit in 2015 to a four-team league based in the northeast for the 2018 season.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
