Less than a month after
he was named president of the Sahara hotel-casino, Mel Larson is out the door
”” again.
The veteran gaming
executive and Sahara owner Bill Bennett parted ways last week, marking yet
another chapter in the on-again, off-again business relationship between the two
colorful characters.
Larson and Bennett go
back to the early days of Circus Circus, and there have been many hirings and
firings over the years. Larson jokingly told GamingToday earlier
this month that Bennett had terminated him 194 times.
Now make that 195.
But the ever-upbeat
Larson is taking it in stride. Reached at Action Helicopters, owned by his wife
Marilyn, the ex-exec downplayed his departure. “I’ll give you one word:
disagreement,’’ he said. Larson added that he wished Bennett and the Sahara
well, and even left open the possibility that he and Bennett could hook up
again.
Meantime, he laughed,
“I’ll just keep flying helicopters.”
