Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas CEO John Unwin is leaving his position at the end of the year, the resort announced today.
Unwin, who has been with the resort since 2009, will continue in a “consulting capacity” after his departure to help with the transition, according to a company press release. The release did not provide any details about Unwin’s replacement.
Unwin was the inaugural chief executive of the Cosmopolitan, which opened its doors to the public in December 2010. The resort has yet to report an annual profit but has been reducing its losses in recent quarters.
In May, the Cosmopolitan announced that it’s being sold by owner Deutsche Bank to an affiliate of Blackstone Group for $1.73 billion. The sale was approved by the Gaming Control Board last week; the Gaming Commission will consider it for final approval next Thursday.
Noting that Unwin was brought on board to "create the brand and launch the resort," the release said that under his leadership, the Cosmopolitan consistently outperformed its peers in terms of average daily room rates and occupancy. Casino revenue has grown, too — by 35 percent in the first nine months of this year, the resort said.
"My task was to create a new type of luxury casino resort that would bring something different to the city while encapsulating the best of what Las Vegas has to offer," Unwin said in the press release. "I have worked with an amazing team over the past five years to achieve that goal."
Jon Gray, Blackstone’s global head of real estate, said in the release that Unwin created a "unique point of view on Las Vegas" and a "distinctive guest experience" at the Cosmopolitan.
Prior to joining the Cosmopolitan, Unwin was the general manager of Caesars Palace. He said in the release that he’s looking forward to applying his experiences at the Cosmopolitan to his next venture, which he intends to announce “shortly.”