Posted on: January 23, 2024, 10:10h.
Last updated on: January 23, 2024, 10:10h.
Fontainebleau Las Vegas has been open roughly a month and it’s already making an ominous habit of losing high-ranking executives.
The new Strip venue confirmed earlier today that Vice President of Revenue Management Angie Dobney is no longer with the resort. She becomes the fourth high-level staffer to depart Fontainebleau since it opened and the third just this month.
The UNLV graduate’s LinkedIn profile confirms that her last day with Fontainebleau Las Vegas was sometime this month. She joined the property in June 2022. Dobney is also the founder of Rise Up Revenue Optimization and that’s listed on LinkedIn as her current role, which she’s held since April 2020.
Strategic consulting for hospitality and gaming customers. Business assessment services. Hotel opening services. Outsourcing revenue management, strategic marketing , distribution and call center operations,” is how Rise Up is described on the professional networking site.
Fontainebleau Las Vegas Experiencing Significant Attrition
Prior to joining Fontainebleau Las Vegas, Dobney held various technology-related roles at companies servicing the gaming industry as well as casino operators. Her LinkedIn profiled indicates she worked for Station Casinos for 19 months and the old Hard Rock Las Vegas for more than six years.
Calling attention to potential operational issues at the new Strip integrated resorts, Dobney joined now former Chief Operating Officer (COO) Colleen Birch and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Shane Smith in leaving the venue this month.
Prior to the departures of Birch and Smith, Vice President of Casino Operations Michael Clifford called it quits on Dec. 30. Of that quartet, Dobney was the longest-serving Fountainebleu staffer though that’s not saying much because of the other three, Birch was the longest-tenured at about 14 months.
The departures of all four have been confirmed, but none of the executives have publicly commented on why they left the casino hotel.
Fontainebleau Struggles Underscore Las Vegas Competition
The $3.7 billion Fontainebleau is the newest addition to the Las Vegas Strip and its executive upheaval underscores just how intense the competition is in the US gaming hub. While the property is in its infancy and the jury is still out on its long-term success, it thus far has struggled to attract the high-end clientele owners were hoping for.
That’s essential because the venue’s hotel rooms typically run around $250 per night at the low end, its restaurants, which have received rave reviews, are pricy, and table game minimums start at $25 a hand.
Some visitors have commented that Fontainebleau appears to be attempting to attract avid bettors, but isn’t doing enough because pay tables on slots are low and rewards and comps for play are supposedly skimpy.
