Editors’ Note

Prior to assuming his current position in May 2007, John O’Brien served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Foxwoods for nine years. Before that, he spent 12 years with Hilton Hotels Corporation, where he held several key management positions, including President and CEO of Hilton’s Windsor Ltd. property in Ontario, Canada and, most recently, Vice President of International Operations for Hilton Gaming Corporation. O’Brien sits on the board of directors of Foxwoods Development Company, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation’s off-reservation development entity.

Property Brief

Opened in 1992, Foxwoods Resort Casino (www.foxwoods.com) is the largest resort casino in North America, with entertainment, gaming, dining, and shopping. Among its attractions, Foxwoods offers 7,200 slot machines, 380 table games, the largest poker room on the East Coast, high-stakes bingo, and the Ultimate Race Book. The resort features 1,400 luxury hotel rooms and suites, restaurants, retail shops, and nightclubs. Entertainment is provided in the unique and intimate Fox Theater and the Hard Rock Cafe. In spring of 2008, the MGM Grand will debut at Foxwoods, boosting the resort’s size another two million square feet and adding 825 more guest rooms and suites, as well as a 21,000-square-foot spa, a 4,000-seat Performing Arts Theater, a casino, an outdoor swimming pool, and four celebrity chef restaurants. The $700-million project will also add another 115,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, including the Northeast’s largest hotel ballroom at 50,000 square feet.

Have you been happy with the growth the property has achieved in the past year, and what is your outlook for 2008?

In a lot of ways, 2007 was a transitional year for us. We restructured the management team and brought in a lot of new executives. That was largely as part of our preparations for our new MGM Grand property, which is opening in May 2008. So we saw 2007 as a little bit of a repositioning and transitional year, when we could gear up and prepare ourselves for 2008 and beyond. We’ve now got an outstanding team that I’m very excited about. I think it’s one of the strongest teams in the industry.

What are your plans for the MGM Grand property?

The MGM Grand is a brand new property. In a way, it’s Connecticut’s third casino. Our aim is to introduce it to the market as different but complementary to the existing Foxwoods property. That is by far the most important initiative we have on our plate right now. At the same time, we’re trying to enhance the existing property as well, so we will have two fantastic properties in this market.

What is your approach to food and beverage?

In my view, it’s extremely important to offer our guests a variety of options. The casinos are the engines that run the whole property, but ultimately our success depends on the overall experience that guests have. That is why our nongaming amenities are so important, like food and beverage, entertainment, retail, etc. We recruited a few celebrity chefs for the MGM Grand property, and we also got Junior’s restaurant, which is an icon in New York. So we’re offering our guests some very exciting things at the MGM Grand. On the Foxwoods side, we’re doing a similar thing.

Is your spa a growth area for you?

Yes. Our patrons are getting more and more discriminating in terms of what they want from the overall experience. At the MGM Grand, we will be bringing in a branded spa, which will offer a lot of the things that our guests want. We have a full-service spa at Foxwoods, and we’re looking into how we can take that to an even higher level. Spas are important – as important as any of the other nongaming amenities – because they add to the overall experience.

Is it challenging to differentiate in today’s market? How are you able to show what makes a property unique?

The bar is being raised higher and higher, and the properties that are serious about maintaining their market position, or growing it, are the ones that are challenging themselves all the time, and trying to raise the bar even higher. The biggest differentiator, besides the product itself, is service. We understand the need to focus on providing excellent service, because it is one of the reasons why a person goes to one property rather than another property. As a differentiator, it is almost as important as the product. Perhaps it’s even more important.

This is an industry known for its high turnover of staff. How difficult is it to find the right people and then keep them?

We’ve been blessed. We are very proud of the fact that we have a relatively low turnover rate. Our turnover rate, on an annual basis, is about 22 percent, versus the industry average of percentages in the mid-30s. I think that speaks to the way we interact with our employees, and how we create a great environment for them. So turnover really hasn’t been a problem for us.

To what extent do you focus on installing the latest high-tech gadgets, and how do you balance that with the all-important human touch?

In short, it’s high-tech versus high-touch. It all depends on what the patron wants. The younger patrons are geared more toward a tech-oriented experience, whereas the older patrons are much more into the high touch. At the end of the day, people want to experience great service, so you’ve got to make that the number-one priority.

Public perception of gaming is not always favorable despite the large amount of good that can come of it, through revenue generation and job creation. Should the industry do a better job of promoting itself?

The perception of gaming has improved a lot over the past 10 years. That said, I think an educational process needs to take place, so that folks truly understand the benefits of gaming, from tax revenues to the jobs it creates, and the impact it has on the local economy. For our purposes, there is another significant benefit, and that is the re-creation and maintainance of a Native American tribe. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe was reborn as a result of this property. It can now provide many social, educational, and economic benefits for its members, and that is very significant to us.

In your role, you are pulled in many different directions. Are you ever able to switch off the business completely and get away?

Maybe for very short periods of time, but when you’re in a position like this, it really does become all-consuming. You do have to make time for your family, because that is very important. My wife is an incredible woman; she’s very understanding and very supportive. That makes it much easier for me.