New CFO for Caesars Entertainment
Donald Colvin replaces John Halkyard who left role in May after 13 years with the operator.
Caesars Entertainment has appointed Donald Colvin as CFO to replace Jonathan Halkyard who left the company in May.
Colvin joins the casino giant as executive vice-president as well as CFO, responsible for Caesars’ finance functions and reporting to CEO Gary Loveman.
Prior to joining Caesars, Colvin served as executive vice-president and CFO of technology firm ON Semiconductor from April 2003 to October 2012. He has also held a number of senior financial positions including at Atmel Corporation, European Silicon Structures and Motorola.
Loveman said of the appointment: “Donald brings to Caesars more than two decades of financial leadership experience and a track record in driving financial strategy, managing complex balance sheets, executing and integrating acquisitions, and increasing shareholder value. His experience will be a valuable addition to Caesars Entertainment, as we execute our strategy to expand our distribution network and further improve our capital structure.”
“Caesars has a strong operating business and ambitious growth plans,” Colvin said. “I look forward to working with Gary, the senior management team and my new colleagues to drive the company’s future growth and success.”
The operator’s online gaming arm, Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE), has applied for a Nevada online poker licence, although it is yet to be named on the agenda for any of the Silver State’s Gaming Control Board meetings.
CIE owns the World Series of Poker brand through which it offers real-money online poker in the UK, France and Italy.
Its real-money poker deals with Dragonfish and Barrière were extended earlier this year and cover the United Kingdom and French markets respectively, while Caesars also has an Italian-facing deal in place with Microgame. Last year it also acquired Playtika, a social games developer of titles including Slotomania and Caesars Casino, for an estimated 130m.
However Loveman publicly stated earlier this month that he was “not terribly optimistic” of a federal online poker bill passing during the upcoming lame duck session.
Speaking after the operator’s third-quarter financial results, Loveman said: “I think it’s possible, but I think there’s some very pressing issues for the country’s finances that remain in front of the Congress in the lame duck session, and surely we all hope they get attention.”
“It’s possible that the online gaming question will be called in that period, but I think it’s probably less likely rather than more likely,” he added.