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Michael Rose was instrumental in the development of Harrah's Entertainment as a major casino operator.

Rose started in the hospitality industry as an attorney working with one a large Holiday Inn franchise owner. He then joined Holiday Inns Inc., itself, and rose through the ranks, becoming. president in 1979, chief executive officer in 1981, and chairman in 1984.

Rose's tenure saw Holiday Inns move into the gaming industry. Originally planning to build a hotel casino in Atlantic City, Holiday Inn bought Harrah's in 1980. It opened the Atlantic City casino as Harrah's Marina in that year, and continued to grow throughout the 1980s, acquiring full ownership of the Holiday Casino on the Las Vegas Strip (now Harrah's Las Vegas) and building new casinos in Lake Tahoe (Bill's), and Laughlin.

In 1990, the Promus Companies Inc. was formed from after the spinoff of the Holiday Inn brand, with Rose as chairman and chief executive officer: Harrah's casinos were its major assets. In 1995, Promus split into two publicly-traded companies, with Rose as chairman of both: Harrah's Entertainment was the casino operator.

Rose retired from Harrah's in 1996, just as the company was in the midst of a decade of impressive growth. Since then, he has continued to serve on many corporate boards.