Cavallaro returns as president of Station Casinos LLC

Station Casinos LLC on Wednesday brought back veteran gaming executive Stephen Cavallaro to serve as president of the Las Vegas-based casino company.

Cavallaro previously served as president and COO of Station Casinos Inc., the predecessor to a reorganized Station Casinos, from 2001 to 2004.

For the past eight years, Cavallaro, 54, served a chairman and CEO of Cavallaro Consulting Group, a business and management firm, whose clients included Ameristar Casinos, Monarch Resorts, Station Casinos and Fertitta Entertainment LLC. He will report to Frank Fertitta III, who will remain chairman and CEO of the privately held gaming company.

"I am very optimistic about our market position and confident that I can make a positive impact on our profitability and growth," Cavallaro said in a statement.

The position of president at Station Casinos has been vacant since 2008, when Lorenzo Fertitta stepped down from his role with the casino company to oversee day-to-day operations of the brothers' even more lucrative business, the Ultimate Fight Championship.

Cavallaro will also serve as president of Fertitta Entertainment, the company that manages Station Casinos' assets.

Station Casinos posted a $7.5 million profit in the second quarter of 2012. The company, which has 17 hotels and casinos in Southern Nevada, plus Indian casino management contracts, reported revenue of $312.2 million for the quarter ended June 30.

The company attributed its results to a 4.7 percent increase in casino revenue to $222.3 million. Station Casinos has not announced a date when it will release third quarter earnings for the period ending Sept. 30.

"Steve has earned our complete confidence having demonstrated a track record of driving performance for our business," Fertitta said in a statement. "As president, he will help lead our talented management team and allow me to focus on key strategic issues."

Fertitta said he's known Cavallaro for "over 20 years," beginning when he was vice president and general manager of Palace Station.

Cavallaro, a 30-year veteran of the casino and hospitality industries, began his career at Harrah's Entertainment Inc. He later served as senior vice president and general manager of the Hard Rock Hotel, executive vice president and COO of Harveys Casino Resorts and president and CEO of Travelscape.com, which was sold to Expedia.com in 2000.

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@review journal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @sierotyfeatures on Twitter.