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| By Arnold M. Knightly, Las Vegas
Review-JournalMcClatchy-Tribune Regional News
Sep. 9, 2009--The Cosmopolitan has hired a second top executive away from a competing property on the Strip. Jeff Burge, the vice president of finance at the Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s Palazzo and Venetian, has been hired as the Cosmopolitan's chief financial officer, a project official said Tuesday. The 40-year-old Burge will join the $3.9 billion project Monday and report to the resort's chief executive officer, John Unwin. Unwin, who resigned as the general manager at Caesars Palace in July, will join the project in October. Both men were hired by project owner Deutsche Bank and will oversee the resort even if another company is brought in to operate the hotel-casino. Deutsche Bank, which paid $1 billion to acquire the project at a foreclosure sale in August 2008, is rumored to have an agreement with Hilton Hotels Corp. to operate the property under the Conrad and Hilton brands, but the bank would not confirm that scenario last week.The Cosmopolitan is scheduled to open in September 2010 on 8.5 acres between MGM Mirage's CityCenter and Bellagio properties on Las Vegas Boulevard. Deutsche Bank hired New York-based Related Cos. in September to oversee its completion. The bank acquired the project when it was half-finished after its original developer and owner, Bruce Eichner and his company, 3700 Associates LLC, entered foreclosure proceedings. Cosmopolitan officials have remained quiet about plans for the resort's condominium units. The resort had contracts to sell 1,825 condominium units in late October, the last time that data was reported. A few lawsuits have been filed in federal court in Nevada and Clark County District Court by some buyers who want their deposits, some of which were paid as long as 4 years ago, refunded. ----- To see more of the Review-Journal or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lvrj.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Las Vegas Review-Journal Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. NYSE:LVS, NYSE:DB, NYSE:MGM, |
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