{"id":777032028,"date":"2025-09-23T07:51:41","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T10:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777032028"},"modified":"2026-04-21T18:55:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T21:55:52","slug":"mgm-names-steve-zanella-as-president-and-coo-of-japan-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/mgm-names-steve-zanella-as-president-and-coo-of-japan-operations","title":{"rendered":"MGM names Steve Zanella as president and COO of Japan operations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MGM Osaka will be Japan\u2019s first integrated resort with a casino.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Japan.- MGM Resorts International<\/strong> has appointed Steve Zanella <\/strong>as president and chief executive of its Japan operations. He will oversee the development and opening of MGM Osaka<\/a>, Japan\u2019s first integrated resort (IR) with a casino, which is on track for completion in the summer of 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zanella is currently president of operations for MGM Resorts<\/strong>, overseeing US regional operations and certain global growth initiatives. Additionally, he leads Sports Partnerships, Citywide Event Strategy and the ongoing relationship with Marriott International. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bill Hornbuckle<\/strong>, MGM president and CEO, said: \u201cWith construction underway in Japan, it\u2019s critical we continue building our leadership team, starting at the top. This is a significant career move for Steve and, frankly, I couldn\u2019t think of anyone more perfectly suited for the job. Steve is a trusted and highly respected leader who knows our company and our brand inside and out having been with MGM for more than 30 years, serving the company as president of operations, chief commercial officer, president & COO of CityCenter, and president & COO of MGM Grand Detroit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSteve will ensure our new property in Japan meets the elevated standard people expect from an MGM Resorts property, while also ensuring our brand supports the community, our employees, our partner ORIX, and other key stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zanella is expected to relocate to Japan next year to lead the team through the resort\u2019s construction and opening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expected to cost JPY1.27tn (US$ 8.9bn)<\/a>, MGM Osaka will feature a hotel with around 2,500 rooms, 400,000 square feet of conference facilities, 330,000 square feet of exhibition space and a theatre with around 3,500 seats. The casino will feature 470 table games and 6,400 slot machines.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Japan Tourism Agency says MGM Osaka advancing as planned<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MGM Osaka will be Japan\u2019s first integrated resort with a casino.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":13704,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"MGM Resorts International has appointed Steve Zanella as President and CEO of its Japan operations, tasking him with overseeing the development and 2030 opening of MGM Osaka, Japan's inaugural integrated resort with a casino. This strategic leadership placement underscores MGM's commitment to the JPY1.27tn (US$8.9bn) project, which will feature extensive gaming, hospitality, and MICE facilities. The appointment is critical for ensuring the project's adherence to elevated brand standards and regulatory compliance within Japan's nascent IR market.","focusai_entities":"MGM Resorts International, Steve Zanella, MGM Osaka, Bill Hornbuckle, Marriott International, ORIX, Japan Tourism Agency","focusai_location":"Japan, Osaka","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (1.0), regulator (0.8), compliance_legal (0.8), operator_casino (0.9), payments_fraud_aml (0.7), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.9), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Zanella's Strategic Mandate?","query":"What specific strategic and operational mandates has Mr. Zanella been given to navigate the complex regulatory landscape and stakeholder ecosystem in Japan, ensuring the timely and compliant delivery of the MGM Osaka IR?"},{"label":"Capital Market Impact?","query":"How will the JPY1.27tn capital expenditure for MGM Osaka, and its projected GGR\/NGR contributions, influence MGM Resorts' capital allocation strategy and investor outlook, particularly concerning debt leverage and future dividend policy?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,16338],"tags":[23632,470,16615],"class_list":["post-777032028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casino-news","category-east-asia-news","tag-integrated-resorts","tag-japan","tag-mgm-resorts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777032028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777032028"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777032028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777032083,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777032028\/revisions\/777032083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777032028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777032028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777032028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}