ATLANTIC CITY — Steve Callender has paid his dues to the casino industry.
Since starting as a craps dealer at Resorts International Hotel Casino in 1978, Callender has worked his way up through the ranks, with stints at various properties in Atlantic City, including Bally’s and the Hilton Casino Resort.
For the last six years, Callender, 64, of Brigantine, has been second in command at Tropicana Atlantic City, overseeing day-to-day operations as the property’s general manager.
But following the sale of Tropicana to Reno-based Eldorado Resorts, Callender has been given the reins to Atlantic City’s second-highest grossing property.
Callender said his new role will not differ all that much from his previous responsibilities.
“I’m the face of Tropicana Atlantic City, to the customers, to the employees,” he said. “It’s a very important position, (but) I spend a lot of time in the operation, spending time with folks. They know me; they’re used to seeing me.”
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The acquisition of Tropicana Entertainment by Eldorado from Icahn Enterprises means the brand’s reach has expanded significantly, he said. Where Tropicana was eight properties, Eldorado now operates 28 casino hotels in 12 states.
“It’s exciting. When you’re part of something that big, there are a lot of efficiencies to be had and a lot of changes you can make to improve your property,” said Callender. “I think the synergies that can be had from all these companies coming together are good. I think it’s good for Atlantic City and certainly good for our guests and for our employees.”
Callender knows he has big shoes to fill with the departure of his friend and boss, former president and CEO Tony Rodio, who now leads Affinity Gaming in Las Vegas.
Rodio taught him plenty during their time together, he said, and those lessons will be evident in how Tropicana operates going forward.
“I’d rather listen to Tony talk about casino business than anybody I’ve ever worked with,” Callender said. “I was an operations guy. But Tony made me understand that everybody has to be a marketer on a property, everybody has to be an entrepreneur, everybody has to leverage their assets to make sure we’re getting everything we can out of every employee. And the Eldorado folks will be able to profit from me spending time with Tony.”
Rodio and Callender were instrumental in bringing Tropicana back to relevance after the company filed for bankruptcy in 2008. When billionaire real estate investor Carl Icahn purchased Tropicana Entertainment in 2010, he tasked the veteran Atlantic City duo with resurrecting the property’s beaten image with a focus on guest service and more amenities.
“We’ve done a really wonderful job of expanding the business and this property,” Callender said. “I got here eight years ago and it was a little dysfunctional, frankly. It had been through some tough times, and it needed a lot of help and a lot of work. We were lucky enough to have an owner who let us spend money on it, to develop it.”
The team delivered and, in 2017, Tropicana became Atlantic City’s second-highest gaming revenue-generating property, reporting $390.9 million.
Dan Heneghan, an industry consultant and retired public information officer for the Casino Control Commission, said Callender has proven himself at every level of casino operations.
“With his tremendous knowledge of the Atlantic City market, (Callender) helped to guide the Tropicana through an extraordinarily difficult time and turn it into one of the city’s strongest properties,” Heneghan said. “Atlantic City still has some tough times ahead of it with competition from two new properties in the city. Having someone at the helm who has weathered good times and bad is a great asset to have.”
With the arrival of two new casino properties to the Atlantic City Boardwalk this summer — Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Ocean Resort Casino — the entire resort is rebounding.
Bob Ambrose, an industry consultant and adjunct professor of casino management at Fairleigh Dickinson University, said Atlantic City is in a transitional period with the addition of the new properties, while also exploring ways to market internet gaming, sports betting and nongaming amenities, which makes Callender the ideal ambassador for Tropicana.
“A great source of knowledge is experience,” Ambrose said. “Steve is a seasoned executive that has worked through the ranks. He understands the Atlantic City market and its position regionally. He knows the employees and is very identifiable to the customer base as part of the Tropicana brand. The new company will be well served under his leadership.”
Callender said Eldorado and Tropicana recognize the evolving landscape of the market and are ready to adapt.
“The market is now starting to expand again,” he said. “We’re hoping that Hard Rock and Ocean can grow the market. They’ve shown that they can do that a little bit through entertainment and more rooms in the market. That always helps. But we’re built to compete. We’re happy to compete against anyone.”
While Hard Rock and Ocean received most of the industry attention this summer, Tropicana has been working quietly to continue to improve, he said, with upgrades currently happening to several restaurants and the player’s lounge. Tropicana has also invested heavily in its recently acquired Chelsea Tower, opening a spa, restaurants, bars and a rooftop pool.
“We’re doing very well. We remain second in the market (behind only Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa), not losing as much market share as some of the big guys, so we’re excited about that,” said Callender. “It’s hard work. But it felt like there was more people in town (this summer) and that’s great for Atlantic City.”
With a new partnership between sports betting operator William Hill U.S. inked and construction underway for a 5,000-square-foot sportsbook — which the company hopes to have completed by early 2019 — Callender said Tropicana has nowhere to go but up.
“It’s a bright future,” he said. “We have so many nongaming amenities on this property that I think we’ll be able to compete. I think that the firepower of Eldorado gaming is just going to make us even better.”
This story has been updated with the proper spelling of Eldorado Resorts.
