Gamal Aziz
{{Short description|Egyptian-American businessman}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gamal Aziz
| image =
| image_upright =
| alt =
| caption = Gamal Abdelaziz in 2013
| native_name = Gamal Abdelaziz
| native_name_lang =
| pronunciation =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|44|2002|6|18}}
| birth_place = Egypt
| nationality = Egyptian-American
| other_names =
| citizenship =
| education =
| alma_mater = University of Cairo (bachelor's degree in business)
| occupation = {{plainlist|
- Former President and Chief Operating Officer of Wynn Resorts
- Former President and Board Member of Wynn Macau
- Former CEO of MGM Resorts International}}
}}
Gamal Aziz, also known as Gamal Abdelaziz (Arabic: جمال عزيز, born {{birth based on age as of date|44|2002|6|18|noage=1}}), is an Egyptian-American businessman. Aziz is the former president of Wynn Macau Limited and chief operating officer of Wynn Resorts Development. He was also the former president and COO of MGM Resorts International.{{cite web |url=https://lasvegassun.com/blogs/kats-report/2013/jan/07/gamal-aziz-jumps-mgm/ |title=Gamal Aziz jumps from MGM Hospitality to new post with Wynn |first=John |last=Katsilometes |date=January 7, 2013 |website=Las Vegas Sun}}{{cite web |url=https://www.enigma-mag.com/gamal-aziz/ |title=Gamal Aziz |date=March 1, 2011 |work=Enigma Magazine}}
Aziz was one of the individuals accused in the 2019 college admissions Varsity Blues case.[https://www.justice.gov/file/1142876/download "Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint,"] U.S. Justice Department, March 11, 2019.{{Cite web |title=Wynn Resorts unveils 3D casino model - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/06/13/wynn-renders-casino/uwZe5SJ1JM0INdYAgExcFJ/story.html |access-date=June 19, 2023 |website=BostonGlobe.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last1=Barrett |first1=Devlin |last2=Zapotosky |first2=Matt |date=March 13, 2019 |title=FBI accuses wealthy parents, including celebrities, in college-entrance bribery scheme |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-accuses-wealthy-parents-including-celebrities-in-college-entrance-bribery-scheme/2019/03/12/d91c9942-44d1-11e9-8aab-95b8d80a1e4f_story.html |access-date=June 19, 2023 |issn=0190-8286}} In May 2023, the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling clearing Aziz of all charges.{{Cite news |last=Korn |first=Melissa |date=May 10, 2023 |title=Appeals Court Tosses Convictions of Two Parents in Varsity Blues Case |language=en-US |work=Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/appeals-court-tosses-convictions-of-two-parents-in-varsity-blues-case-4101f17a |access-date=June 19, 2023 |issn=0099-9660}}
Career
Aziz was born in Egypt, grew up in Cairo, Egypt, and resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2006/07/05/technology/mgmgrand.biz2/ |title=Going from good to the MGM Grand; By ripping out its best-performing venues, Gamal Aziz has reinvented the MGM Grand - and pioneered a radical new growth strategy. |date=July 6, 2006 |first=Paul |last=Kaihla |publisher=CNN}}[https://www.justice.gov/file/1142876/download "Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint,"] U.S. Justice Department, March 11, 2019. He earned a bachelor's degree in business at the University of Cairo.
He held senior executive positions at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the Plaza Hotel in New York City, the Westin Hotel in Washington, D.C., and the St. Francis in San Francisco.{{cite web |url=http://www.amcham.org.mo/index.php/about-amcham/organization/283 |title=Biography: Gamal Aziz |publisher=The American Chamber of Commerce in Macau}}
Aziz helped Steve Wynn open the Bellagio, the most expensive US hotel ever built, as that hotel's senior vice president, a post he held from 1998 to 2000. He oversaw the food and beverage division.{{cite web |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/courts/suspect-in-college-bribery-case-opened-las-vegas-macau-casinos-1616464/ |title=Suspect in college bribery case opened Las Vegas, Macau casinos |first=Todd |last=Prince |date=March 12, 2019 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal}}
Aziz was next president and chief operating officer of the 5,000-room, 10,000-employee resort MGM Grand, the largest hotel by rooms in the US, joining it in 2001.{{cite web |url=https://www.masslive.com/casinos/2019/03/gamal-aziz-charged-in-college-admissions-scandal-worked-for-wynn-resorts-helping-to-secure-license-for-encore-boston-harbor.html |title=Gamal Aziz, charged in college admissions scandal, worked for Wynn Resorts, helping to secure license for Encore Boston Harbor |first=Steph |last=Solis |date=March 13, 2019 |website=masslive.com}}{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2009-01-16/the-issue-maintaining-employee-engagementbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |title=The Issue: Maintaining Employee Engagement; For CEO Gamal Aziz, the challenge is maintaining the MGM Grand's remarkable employee engagement during tough times for the hotel and for Las Vegas |first=Nanette |last=Byrnes |date=January 16, 2009 |website=Bloomberg}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IabU9Ew20rMC&q=%22Gamal+Aziz%22&pg=PT142 |title=Closing the Engagement Gap: How Great Companies Unlock Employee Potential for Superior Results |first1=Julie |last1=Gebauer |first2=Don |last2=Lowman |date=2008 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9781440659171 |via=Google Books}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5WwJAAAAQBAJ&q=%22Gamal+Aziz%22&pg=PA727 |title=Managing Human Resources |first1=Scott |last1=Snell |first2=George W. |last2=Bohlander |date=2012 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1133707394 |via=Google Books}} He was then president and chief operating officer of MGM Resorts International, and then MGM Hospitality in September 2010.[https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mgm-resorts-international-promotes-gamal-aziz-to-president-and-ceo-of-mgm-hospitality-103042984.html MGM Resorts International Promotes Gamal Aziz to President and CEO of MGM Hospitality], September 16, 2010. In that position he helped finalize 27 hotel projects in leisure markets around the world.{{cite web |url=https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-gaming-executive-indicted-in-college-admissions-and-bribery-scandal |first=Howard |last=Stutz |date=March 12, 2019 |title=Nevada gaming executive indicted in college admissions and bribery scandal |website=The Nevada Independent}}
In January 2013 Aziz was appointed president and chief operating officer of Wynn Resorts Development LLC, overseeing expansion opportunities.{{cite web |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/06/13/wynn-renders-casino/uwZe5SJ1JM0INdYAgExcFJ/story.html |title=Wynn renders casino in 3D |first=Mark |last=Arsenault |date=June 14, 2013 |website=The Boston Globe}} He next became president of Wynn Macau, Ltd., reporting directly to Wynn. In December 2015 Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL), a hotel and hospitality school, appointed him to its international advisory board.{{cite web |url=https://insights.ehotelier.com/people/2015/11/12/gamal-aziz-president-and-executive-director-of-wynn-macau-limited-appointed-to-ecole-hoteliere-de-lausanne-international-advisory-board/ |title=Gamal Aziz, President and Executive Director of Wynn Macau, appointed to Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne International Advisory Board |date=November 11, 2015 |publisher=ehotelierms}} He resigned in September 2016 as president and as a board member of Wynn Macau.{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/30/wynn-stock-trips-after-key-macau-exec-behind-palace-departs.html |title=Wynn stock trips after key Macau exec behind Palace departs |first=Jeff |last=Daniels |date=September 30, 2016 |website=CNBC}}
Aziz has been CEO of Legacy Hospitality Group since January 2017, according to his LinkedIn page.[https://www.linkedin.com/in/gamalazizusa/ "Gamal Aziz; Chairman and CEO at Legacy Hospitality Group"], LinkedIn.
In March 2019, Aziz and others were named in a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Justice Department, and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud,{{Cite web |date=March 13, 2019 |title=Aziz helped plan Encore Boston Harbor; Now he's charged in college admissions scam |url=https://www.masslive.com/casinos/2019/03/gamal-aziz-charged-in-college-admissions-scandal-worked-for-wynn-resorts-helping-to-secure-license-for-encore-boston-harbor.html |access-date=March 31, 2021 |website=masslive |language=en}} as part of the 2019 college admissions Varsity Blues case.
In May 2023, the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling clearing Aziz of all charges.{{Cite web |date=May 11, 2023 |title=Court overturns convictions of first two parents tried in college admissions scandal |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-10/court-overturns-convictions-of-first-two-parents-tried-in-college-admissions-scandal |access-date=June 19, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} A three-panel judge issued the reversal after finding that a lower court had made missteps during Aziz’s trial.{{Cite web |title='Varsity Blues' Dads Say Recent Ruling Bolsters Their Appeal - Law360 |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/1533634/varsity-blues-dads-say-recent-ruling-bolsters-their-appeal |access-date=May 11, 2023 |website=www.law360.com |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Hartocollis |first=Anemona |date=May 11, 2023 |title=Appeals Court Overturns Fraud and Conspiracy Convictions in Varsity Blues Scandal |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/10/us/varsity-blues-convictions-college.html |access-date=May 11, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |title=UNITED STATES, Appellee, v. GAMAL ABDELAZIZ, Defendant, Appellant |url=http://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/22-1129P-01A.pdf}} The Los Angeles Times reported that the 3-0 decision was a result of the charges against Aziz being “based on misapplications of the law, unsupported by the evidence presented at trial, or tainted by the introduction of evidence about other Singer clients whom Abdelaziz… had nothing to do with.” Circuit Judge Sandra Lynch commented that the way the evidence was presented created “an unacceptable risk that the jury convicted Abdelaziz and Wilson based on others’ conduct rather than their own.”{{Cite news |date=May 10, 2023 |title=Appeals court overturns convictions of two parents in Varsity Blues College Scandal |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/10/varsity-blues-scandal-convictions-overturned/ |newspaper=Washington Post}} As a result of the ruling, Aziz would also become the only accused parent in the college admissions scandal to avoid punishment.{{cite news |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/longtime-gaming-executive-aziz-feels-vindicated-after-scandal-2887280/ |title=Longtime gaming executive Aziz feels vindicated after scandal |first=Richard N. |last=Velotta |publisher=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=August 14, 2023 |accessdate=November 22, 2023}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.elitetraveler.com/leaders-in-luxury/gamal-aziz "Gamal Aziz"], Elite Traveler.
- [https://pursuethepassion.com/a-pleasure-to-serve/ "Executive Interview: Gamal Aziz, President and CEO of MGM Hospitality"], Pursue The Passion, September 13, 2007.
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aziz, Gamal}}
Category:Year of birth uncertain
Category:American casino industry businesspeople
Category:American corporate directors
Category:Cairo University alumni
Category:People convicted of fraud
Category:Businesspeople from Cairo