francis murray

Represented the company in a coastal gaming entertainment cruise project it was developing with local partners in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and later Miami, FL. Company was awarded via RFP process an opportunity to establish new coastal gaming operation at Miami's Bayside Marketplace, and then sold the opportunity to a third-party (became Casino Princesa). Concurrently, co-developed the acquisition, development and product transition plan for M/V Viking Princess (renamed Palm Beach Princess), a non-performing asset of a bankrupt entity offering two days Florida to Freeport (Bahamas) cruises.

Project-managed Orion Casino Corporation's 'Starship Orion', a $1B, 5.4 million square foot multiple casino, hotel, retail and entertainment complex planned for development on the Las Vegas Strip opposite Circus Circus on the 21 acres formerly occupied by the El Rancho Hotel and Casino. Starship Orion was planned to consist of seven separately owned and operated 30,000 SF casinos (210,000 aggregate gaming space), 300,000 SF of retail, 2,400 first-class hotel rooms (most in a 65-story Emerald hotel), an Alien Circus, Galactic Theaters and various interactive simulators, alternative reality and motion based entertainment experiences and theaters. Conceived to be Las Vegas' first 'entertainment superstore'. Ultimately, the project was not able to attract financing due to several other projects under development at that time on the Las Vegas Strip. The real estate was later sold to Turnberry Associates (Aventura, FL) for its planned Fontainebleau Resort Las Vegas development.

Project-managed International Thoroughbred Gaming Development Corporation's (ITGDC) highly-public effort, through its proposal to the State of New Jersey, to establish casino gaming destinations outside Atlantic City at Garden State Park and The Meadowland Race Track, as a strategy to address the prospective competitive threat to the state's racing and casino gaming industries from the expected development of casino gaming enterprises in the near-market.

Managed the day-to-day activities of the New England NFL Partnership, organized to develop grass-roots and state political support for a strategy to attract the New England Patriots Football Club to Connecticut, from its home in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The state's General Assembly approved $252.1M in public financing for a new 65,000 stadium and practice facility, which was the foundation for the New England NFL Partnership to make an offer to purchase the New England Patriots Football Club and relocate the team to Hartford, Connecticut. At the time, the State of Massachusetts and the City of Boston were unwilling to move forward with a new stadium facility for the NFL team. The State of Connecticut, led by Governor Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. and civic leaders, publicly supported the New England NFL Partnership's efforts.

Co-founded company to develop an off-shore gaming enterprise to be based in Singapore. Developed local professional network to support due diligence. Developed the business plan. Assembled senior executive team. Identified, evaluated and negotiated for vessel assets. Managed all due diligence. Helped secure private placement financing commitment.

* Led Florida’s premier coastal gaming entertainment company, featuring Palm Beach Princess and Big Easy casinos. Responsible for the entertainment experience of 2.75MM * guests sailing on 8,000 * cruises. During tenure, $300MM * revenue * 1% unscheduled downtime * Average annual patronage increased by 73% * Average annual revenues doubled, and EBITDA margins grew from nil to as high as 30%. (See product photos: http://bit.ly/PBCLphotos)

Developed and implemented the policies and procedures for new coastal entertainment business leveraging M/V Palm Beach Princess platform. Established best-in-class guest experience standards. Responsible for execution of guest experience delivery. Reorganized hospitality-related management to best suit goals. Recruited key personnel. Trained and managed 200+ employees, delivering service to as many as 800 guests per cruise. Developed and implemented new amenities and revenue streams.

Co-managed daily activities of the private organization founded to attract a National Football League expansion franchise to St. Louis metropolitan area. Coordinated public relations efforts in association with highly-engaged St. Louis-based communications agency. Co-managed communications strategy to the public, NFL Office, state and local government officials. Represented the organization before the public, NFL owners, federal, state, county and municipal officials, boards and commissions. Worked with architectural design team on the design and development of the Edward Jones Dome, current home of St. Louis Rams. Developed and managed two neutral-site NFL pre-season exhibition games held in St. Louis which were vital to promoting the city's candidacy for an NFL expansion team. The NFL awarded two expansion franchises - first to Charlotte, later to Jacksonville. In 1995, the Los Angeles Rams relocated to St. Louis, taking advantage of the new publicly-financed stadium development and fan-base enthusiasm initiated by the St. Louis NFL Partnership.

On-site representative of New England Patriots' General Partner, FWM Corporation. Worked closely with the Club's General Manager in all facets of the business including budget development, sales and marketing, public relations, ticketing, player personnel, contract negotiations, stadium relations and game day operations. Represented the Club to NFL owners, federal, state and local government officials, boards and commissions, and the general public. Participated in discussions and planning for new stadium development efforts in Boston.

Co-founded company to develop a legal, on-line wagering product. Researched, developed and wrote business plan. Developed conceptual wire frames, user flows and branding. Identified prospective creative and technology partners. Established wagering strategies.

Graduated from the School of Hotel Administration. Played football and was a member of Chi Psi Fraternity. Activities and Societies: Chi Psi Fraternity, Varsity Sprint Football, Hotel Ezra Cornell