Station Casinos’ Durango resort names top leadership
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With less than a year until the Durango resort opens, Station Casinos announced Thursday key leadership appointments for the property located in the southwest valley.
David Horn was named vice president and general manager, according to a news release. Horn, a 28-year hospitality industry veteran, most recently served dual roles as vice president and assistant manager of the Palms and corporate vice president of table games for Station Casinos. He also held the general manager title at Palace Station for three years.
Horn has been overseeing all phases of Durango’s pre-opening and day-to-day processes, including gaming, hotel operations, marketing and branding, partner relations, recruitment and sales while the resort is under construction, the company said in a statement.
It also announced Kai Speth will be the resort’s vice president of hospitality, and Daniel Ye will be the executive chef.
Speth will oversee multiple operations at Durango, including hotel operations, food and beverage, resort amenities, guest experience, luxury suites, and the front office.
He comes to Station with 30 years of experience at hotels and restaurants across the world, according to the news release. He was previously the vice president of operations and business performance for Windsor Property Management Group Corp., overseeing three luxury hotels and other hospitality assets in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He’s held other leadership roles at properties in Taiwan, South Korea, Los Angles and Beaver Creek, Colorado.
In Ye’s new role, he will be responsible for all culinary operations at the resort such as its food and beverage outlets and banquet services. Ye joins Station after a five-year tenure as corporate executive chef at Catch Hospitality Group, where he oversaw the company’s U.S. and Mexico operations. He has also been corporate head chef for 6th Avenue Inc. and corporate executive chef for Notar Hospitality in New York City as well as executive chef and corporate liaison at Nobu Restaurants.
Station broke ground on the $750 million resort in March and expects to open in fall 2023. The 211-room hotel will have an 83,000-square-foot casino floor, four signature restaurants, a collection of bars and lounges and an 11-unit food hall, among other amenities.
McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com.@mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.
