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Frank Modica (1928-2004) was a distinguished gaming industry executive for nearly four decades.

Modica, born in a upstate New York, moved to Las Vegas after serving in the Army during World War II. In 1947, he got a job at the Las Vegas Club downtown as a dealer. For the next decade, he worked at several Las Vegas casinos, gaining experience.

In 1959, he moved to the Showboat, then a relatively young casino far off the Strip. Three years later, he took a position as a bingo manager and, after some success, moved into sales. In 1965 he became the property's general manager.

Five years later, Modica left the Showboat to work for Howard Hughes as the general manager of the Landmark, then the Desert Inn. He also ran the Holiday International (not Claudine Williams' Holiday Casino) and Maxim casinos.

In 1980, Modica returned to the Showboat as general manager, and was soon elected to serve on the company's board of directors. In the mid-1980s, he helmed the company's expansion to Atlantic City. Once that casino had been well-established, he moved back to Las Vegas. where he resumed his post as general manager of the Showboat.

After rising to the position of president and chief executive officer of the Showboat, Modica retired in 1995. After he left, Harrah's Entertainment bought the Showboat company and ultimately closed the Las Vegas casino, though the Atlantic City Showboat is still steaming forward.