Gary Selesner

Selesner attended Walt Whitman High School and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arizona in 1976.⁠[1][1]

Selesner began his gaming career in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as advertising manager for Harrah’s Marina and then Trump Plaza, later holding several management positions at Trump Plaza before becoming president of the casino hotel; while at Trump Plaza, he signed the magic duo PennUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania, commonly called Penn, is a private research university and Ivy League member in Philadelphia. It traces its origins to a 1740 charity-school project; Benjamin Franklin proposed his academy in 1749, classes began in 1751, and a 1791 merger established the institution under its present name. Penn has 12 schools, with undergraduate education concentrated in arts and sciences, engineering, nursing and Wharton. Enrollment totaled 29,384 in fall 2025, and the fiscal 2025 endowment was $24.81 billion. As of October 2026, J. Larry Jameson was president, with his term scheduled to end on June 30, 2027.Open the full entry & Teller, who later became headliners at the Rio in Las Vegas.⁠[2][1]

After leaving Trump Plaza, he became corporate vice president of sales and marketing at President Casinos (the company that opened America’s first riverboat casino), and then senior vice president in charge of East Coast development at Harveys.⁠[2][2]

In 1996, Selesner became general manager of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and later moved to become general manager of Harrah’s Lake Tahoe.⁠[2]

In 2001, Selesner returned to Las Vegas as assistant general manager of Harrah’s Las Vegas; in 2002, he became general manager of the Rio.⁠[2]

On June 13, 2005, Harrah’s Entertainment completed its acquisition of Caesars Entertainment; in July of that year, Selesner joined Caesars Palace as general manager.⁠[2][2]

On August 8, 2005, Harrah’s Entertainment announced that Selesner would succeed Mark Juliano as president of Caesars Palace, the company’s flagship property, responsible for day-to-day operations and reporting to Tom Jenkin, president of Harrah’s Western Division; by then, he had worked in the gaming industry for 21 years.⁠[2][3][2]

Jenkin said that Selesner’s expertise with diverse brands, entertainment, and marketing would be particularly important to Caesars Palace, one of the best-known luxury brands in the gaming industry.⁠[2]

In 2011, Selesner helped the production company Spiegelworld come to Las Vegas, pushing to open and keep running its flagship show Absinthe in a tent theater on the Roman Plaza at Caesars Palace; the show initially had only a six-month contract. Spiegelworld founder Ross Mollison said Selesner was the only one who supported Absinthe from the beginning.⁠[1][1][1]

In August 2018, Selesner attended a workshop performance of a Spiegelworld show in New York; the show later premiered as DiscoShow at the Linq Hotel in Las Vegas.⁠[1]

In 2022, Selesner stepped down as president of Caesars Palace and retired, having worked for the company for nearly 20 years.⁠[1]

In April 2023, Selesner toured The Hook, a new Spiegelworld show then in development at the Warner Theater at Caesars Atlantic City, and on July 21 of that year he attended the show’s premiere.⁠[1][1]

Selesner died on September 9, 2024, at the age of 71. Caesars Entertainment issued a statement of condolence describing his impact on Caesars Palace and the Las Vegas Strip as “indelible”; company CEO Tom Reeg said the partnerships Selesner had incubated as president of Caesars Palace, with names including Gordon Ramsay and Nobu Hotels, had since been extended to Caesars Entertainment properties across the country.⁠[1][1][1][1]

During Selesner’s tenure, Caesars Palace brought in restaurants including Mr. Chow, Gordon Ramsay Pub, and Restaurant Guy Savoy (the only U.S. restaurant of French Michelin three-star chef Guy Savoy); its room count expanded to 4,000, it added the Laurel Collection, consisting of the Augustus and Octavius towers, and it opened the first Nobu Hotel.⁠[1][1]

His tenure saw the opening and renovation of the Colosseum, where Celine Dion, Jerry Seinfeld, Elton John, Rod Stewart, and others have held residencies. As regional president, he was also the top executive of Caesars Palace, Rio, Bally’s (later renamed Horseshoe), Planet Hollywood, and Harrah’s.⁠[1][1]