May 2, 2003 - ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.--The numbers punched into the Texas Instruments calculator cinched it for Robert L. Boughner. 

Boughner -- then 23 and working a one-week stint as an attendant draining buckets of quarters from slot machines at the Las Vegas Hilton -- ran the numbers on how much money one machine produced in an hour, a day, a week and a year. 

That week changed his life. 

"I did the math and I couldn't believe it," Boughner, 50, said. "And I said to myself, 'This is a great business."

Boughner parlayed his studies in hospitality services from the University of Las Vegas into a career in casino gaming and -- 27 years later -- finds himself at the helm of the largest, most expensive casino in Atlantic City. 

The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is a $1.05 billion entertainment destination at Renaissance Pointe and a joint venture between Boyd Gaming Corp. and MGM Mirage Inc. It will open this summer. 

Boughner, as the Borgata's chief executive officer, has the attention of the entire industry, especially casino operators in Atlantic City, who have not seen anything this big since the opening of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in 1990. 

"In Vegas, casino operators respect the next level of upmanship because it gives them a new bar to meet," said Adam Fine, editor-in-chief of Casino Player Magazine, and a friend and former business associate of Boughner's. "The Borgata has set a new bar." 

Boyd, based in Las Vegas, owns or operates 12 gaming properties, including casinos in Nevada, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana and Louisiana. 

Boyd reported net income of $40.01 million last year on revenue of $1.23 billion. The stock closed at $14.65 a share yesterday. MGM Mirage, also based in Las Vegas, reported net income of $292.44 million on revenue of $4.03 billion last year. MGM stock closed at $27.47 a share. 

Boughner has spent his entire career with Boyd, starting in July 1976, and has served in a variety of senior executive positions, including general manager of various properties and senior vice president of administration. 

He resigned as Boyd's chief operating officer to head the Borgata. Last year, his salary was $550,000 and his bonus $352,960. 

When it comes to making an impression, Boughner wastes no time. 

"I asked him, 'What's your goal?'" said William S. Boyd, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, recalling the time when the two sat in his office about 15 years ago. "He looked me in the eye and said, 'I want your job,' and he was very sincere about it." 

Boughner readily admits he lobbied for the Borgata job. 

"Absolutely," he said unabashedly. "I've been very fortunate in my 27 years with the company, been fortunate enough to literally have chosen every job I've ever had." 

He said his approach had been the same with each. 

"To give it every bit of intensity, every bit of focus that I can muster," Boughner said. 

Boyd became Boughner's mentor. "One thing different about Bob was that he was interested in other parts or other departments and how everything fit together," Boyd said. 

And he knows how the parts work together. 

Jeffrey Vasser, executive director of the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority, said Boughner, who had served on the board of the same entity in Las Vegas, extended himself early on and offered to share staff and market research. 

"He really understood what we do and seemed to believe in the role we provide," Vasser said. 

Boughner is meticulous with detail and direct with what he wants. 

"We provided a significant number of slot machines for the Borgata, and there were some bumps along the way with delivery schedules, and he wasn't shy about telling us about it," said Ward Chilton, senior vice president of sales at International Game Technology. 

One of the biggest Borgata tasks is finding workers -- 4,800 need to be hired. In the last year, Boughner recruited at Boyd properties, giving presentations on the Borgata. "I've spent many sleepless nights thinking about how to find the right employees," he said. "Only by finding the right employees will Borgata find the right customers." 

So important are details to Boughner that on a recent weekday at the Bayport One building on Black Horse Pike, inside his temporary office until the shimmering real deal opens, he pored over blueprints and fabric samples to outfit so-called Borgata Babes, the casino's cocktail waitresses. 

Boughner said the outfit had to be: "Fun. Upscale. Energetic. Sensual. International." 

"And this deals with sensuality," Boughner said, picking up a design for a sexy, two-piece ensemble. "We're going to have beautiful women wearing these clothes at the Borgata." 

When a photographer was about to snap his picture, Boughner, who dresses in Giorgio Armani -- casual, yet elegant -- asked for approval of his shirt collar. "Does that look stupid? he asked Michael Facenda, the marketing director, after buttoning his top button. 

Boughner takes feedback well as a boss, say those who have worked with him. He is accessible and values others' opinions. 

"He's got a good read on people," said Jim Rigot, 51, who recently was hired as Borgata's vice president of casino operations and worked alongside Boughner when they were starting out at the Boyd-owned California Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. "He's a good listener." 

Boughner bought a home in the Atlantic City area and will also keep a Las Vegas home. 

"This is a big away game," he said of Atlantic City. 

Downtime is a six-hour flight from Atlantic City to Las Vegas on Sunday nights. 

He does not disclose much about his personal life. He has no wife and no children. His significant other lives in Las Vegas. 

If he were not operating casinos, Boughner said he would probably own and operate a bed-and-breakfast in Tuscany. He loves to cook. One of his early jobs was assistant chef at one of the Boyd properties. 

Vacations have included Italy, Denmark, Finland and St. Petersburg, Russia. Yet, gaming does not leave his mind. 

"I think there's going to be real opportunity for large U.S.-based gaming companies in Mexico, in the U.K., and potentially in the former Soviet Union," Boughner said. 

Boughner said Boyd executives had been watching Atlantic City and its potential for years and decided in 1996 to pursue the Borgata. 

"In the past couple of years, Atlantic City hasn't seen the same level of growth as it saw previously, and I think that's pretty understandable given the fact that there's been tremendous competition that's come from the Connecticut casinos, and on a more limited basis, the Delaware slots," he said. "But in terms of moving forward, I think Atlantic City is very well-positioned for the future." 

Boughner, some say, will set the pace. "Most of Atlantic City is built around not rocking the boat too much," industry watcher Fine said. "Bob is not only going to rock the boat, he's going to shake the damn thing up so hard that it empties out and fills up with new people." 

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