2012 Honoree

Terry Lanni

Biography

J. Terrence (“Terry”) Lanni is best known for his long tenure as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of MGM Mirage (now MGM Resorts). 

Mr. Lanni joined MGM Grand, Inc. on June 1, 1995, as president and chief executive officer and a member of the Board of Directors.  In July 1995 he was named to the position of Chairman of the Board. 

Mr. Lanni previously was a senior executive of Caesars World, Inc., serving as President and Chief Operating Officer from April 1981 to February 1995, and a member of the Board of Directors of that company from January 1982 to February 1995.  Mr. Lanni originally joined Caesars World in January 1977 as Chief Financial Officer, was named Senior Vice President in April 1978, and elected Executive Vice President in December 1979.

Mr. Lanni graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. degree in general management.  In 1992, he received the “Alumni of the Year Award” from USC’s School of Business Administration. 

He was appointed by the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1997 to serve on the nine-member National Gambling Impact Study Commission. 

In October 2000 he was inducted into the Gaming Hall of Fame, and in January 2001 was the recipient of Casino Journal’s 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Mr. Lanni stepped down from MGM Mirage in 2008 after having overseen two of the largest mergers in gaming history; MGM Grand's 2000 acquistion of Mirage Resorts, which created MGM Mirage, and MGM Mirage's 2005 acquisition of the Mandalay Resort Group. He was also a key figure in the construction of CityCenter, a project made possible by the mergers he orchestrated.

In additon to his work with MGM Mirage, Mr. Lanni also served as a member of the Board of Directors of KB Home (NYSE); the Board of Trustees of The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation; the Board of Overseers of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California; the Board of Trustees, Santa Clara University; and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.

His influence

"Terry Lanni's leadership and vision are key reasons for the current state of design on the Las Vegas Strip, and the entire gaming industry. Without his involvement for more than 30 years, our industry literally would look very different," said Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., president and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA), which along with Reed Exhibitions, produces G2E. "We are proud to recognize him with the highest honor the Casino Design Awards can offer."

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