Pascua Yaqui Tribe Names Mark A. Birtha President and CDO of Sol Casinos and AVA Ampitheatre

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. July 02, 2010

Tucson, AZ - June 30, 2010 - The Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Sol Casinos are pleased to announce the appointment of Mark A. Birtha as President and Chief Development Officer.

In this new role, Birtha will have general management responsibilities for the operations of Casino Del Sol, Casino of the Sun and the 5,000-seat AVA Amphitheater. In addition, Birtha will oversee the design, construction and operations of Casino Del Sol's hotel expansion development.

“Mark is a welcomed addition to the Sol Casinos team,'' said Wendell Long, Pascua Yaqui Gaming Enterprise Division and Sol Casinos Chief Executive Officer. “Mark will be able to lend the support to the Executive Management team.'' Birtha will report to Mr. Long. “We are excited that Mark is joining our executive management team at this critical time in our company's evolution,” Long said. “His development and operations expertise will enable us to not only create a truly unique hospitality experience in Southern Arizona but raise the bar of service in Tucson and deliver a high quality product to our customers.”

The new project, which broke ground in April 2010, will include a 10-story hotel with 215 rooms and suites, a 50,000-square-foot conference center, three restaurants, a lobby lounge, pool, day club, spa and fitness center, high-limit gaming salon, parking garage with 1,120 spots, warehouse and laundry operation.

Most recently, Birtha was Vice President of Development and Project Manager for Marriott International where he oversaw the development of a $3 billion hotel casino convention center in Las Vegas as well as other brand opportunities. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Development/Operations/Administration for the W Las Vegas Hotel Casino Convention Center project.

“I am ecstatic to be a part of the Sol Casinos team,” says Birtha. “I am now able to bring my development and operations paths together full circle in managing existing casino and non-gaming amenities and in establishing new ones. The opportunity to create an unparalleled destination experience in Southern Arizona and hire hundreds of new employees in what has been a difficult economy is truly a testament to the ongoing success of Sol Casinos and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.”

Birtha has held executive positions with Las Vegas Sands Corp., in corporate development, casino marketing and conference management. He opened the Bellagio Hotel as Assistant Director of Beverage and oversaw food and beverage operations at the Mirage. Birtha is a graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and is currently 1st Vice President of the Cornell Hotel Society Alumni executive board. He is managing editor of RD&E Magazine and has written articles for multiple gaming publications and speaks regularly at industry conferences including G2E where he is on the advisory board.

“We look forward to harnessing Mark's knowledge of Las Vegas operations and his development skills with W and Marriott to create a truly landmark destination property that will benefit our loyal guests and attract new customers throughout the Southwest, Mexico and the entire United States,” Long said.

The new hotel and conference center is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011. Future development plans include the expansion of retail, dining and entertainment venues and a championship level golf course.

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is a federally recognized tribe with more than 17,000 enrolled members. The reservation is located in southwest metropolitan Tucson. The Tribe owns and operates two casinos: Casino of the Sun and Casino Del Sol. Non-gaming enterprises include the Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater, a 5,000-seat open-air concert venue, and the Del Sol Marketplace, which includes a gas station and car wash, convenience store, and smoke shop. The Casino Del Sol Hotel and Convention Center is currently under construction and set to open in the Fall of 2011. For more information, visit www.solcasinos.com.