GGRAsia – Caesars Ent CEO’s 2016 compensation down 26pct

Caesars Ent CEO’s 2016 compensation down 26pct

Apr 14, 2017 Newsdesk Latest News, Top of the deck, World

The 2016 compensation package for Caesars Entertainment Corp chief executive Mark Frissora was 25.8 percent lower than his package for 2015.

The information was given in a Wednesday proxy filing by the U.S.-based casino operator to Nasdaq in New York.

In February Caesars Entertainment reported a full-year 2016 net loss of US$2.7 billion for its “Continuing CEC” unit.

Mr Frissora – a former head of rental car firm Hertz Global Holdings Inc – received US$9,510,932 in compensation from Caesars Entertainment in 2016, compared to US$12,812,830 in 2015.

While the CEO’s base salary rose 23.6 percent year-on-year in 2016, to US$1,976,923, he received no stock options. In 2015, such compensation amounted to just over US$5 million measured by grant date fair value.

Gary Loveman, a former CEO of the group and who is currently chairman, saw his 2016 base salary frozen at US$1.9 million. His total 2016 compensation package was down 21.6 percent year-on-year however, to US$5,972,699, compared to US$7,618,242 in 2015.

Caesars Entertainment Operating Co Inc (CEOC) – constituted as an operating unit of Caesars Entertainment – sought protection from bankruptcy via the U.S. courts in January 2015, weighed by a US$18-billion debt load. It was part of a plan to cut group debt by approximately US$10 billion.

In January this year, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Illinois approved the operating unit’s reorganisation plan, which Caesars Entertainment said would allow for a “successful conclusion to CEOC’s bankruptcy in 2017”.

Also in January, Steven Tight, the group’s president of international development, told GGRAsia that it was “pursuing a number of growth opportunities in Asia, including Japan”, and stepping up activity on its slated South Korea casino project.