Nevada gaming regulators license sons of Circus Circus owner and late MGM Mirage chief, who are on very different career paths

What happened

The Nevada Gaming Commission on Thursday licensed Christopher Ruffin, son of Circus Circus owner Phil Ruffin, as vice president of the company, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. He was one of two sons of Southern Nevada gaming figures to receive final licensing approval in unanimous votes.

The other was Sean Lanni, son of the late chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage, the company that came before MGM Resorts International. According to the Review-Journal, Lanni did not need to appear because he had recently been approved in a similar action.

Two licenses, two different roles

Although both men went through a similar process to be licensed as key executives, the Review-Journal reported that they are on very different paths. One has no immediate plans to take an active role at his family's resort, while the other already runs several MGM properties.

Ruffin stays in Wichita for now

Ruffin told regulators he has no immediate plans to take on the Circus Circus vice president role. He works as general manager of the Hyatt Regency in Wichita, Kansas, and lives there, according to the Review-Journal.

He previously worked in Las Vegas as director of rooms at the New Frontier on the Strip under his father. He then moved to Wichita to gain hands-on experience in commercial real estate and grow the family's Kansas holdings. The New Frontier was later demolished, and parts of the site became home to Resorts World Las Vegas, the outlet noted.

"My father is a big believer in learning by doing, and he insisted that I do a little bit of everything in that operation," Ruffin told Nevada Gaming Control Board members this month, the Review-Journal reported.

Licensing tied to estate planning

Ruffin said the main reason for seeking a license now is so he can take part in estate planning. In August, his sister, Michelle Ruffin-Stein, was also licensed as a Circus Circus vice president for the same purpose, according to the Review-Journal. Ruffin did not rule out moving to Las Vegas at some point to take a more hands-on role at the resort.

Lanni adds Park MGM

Lanni already holds hands-on duties with MGM. He serves as president and chief operating officer of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Aria and Vdara, all owned by MGM, and will now hold that title at Park MGM as well, the Review-Journal reported.

M Resort manager recommended in Henderson

In a separate item, the board unanimously recommended licensing M Resort Vice President and General Manager Hussain Mahrous as a key executive and key employee of the Henderson resort. Mahrous has been licensed in other gaming jurisdictions, but this was his first appearance for licensing in Nevada, according to the Review-Journal.

Mahrous said his goal since joining the Penn Entertainment-owned M has been to build on the resort Anthony Marnell opened in 2009 and to make it appealing to both locals and visitors. He acknowledged that travel to Las Vegas has become expensive but said he is optimistic about the M's incentives and its ties to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Speaking about the resort's offers and rewards, Mahrous told regulators "we have always been, in my opinion, a market leader," the Review-Journal reported. He added, "We give away, I believe, probably more food than any of our competitors."

Why it matters

The votes on Ruffin and Lanni were unanimous, as was the board's recommendation on Mahrous, according to the Review-Journal. Ruffin's license, like his sister's in August, is meant to let him take part in estate planning rather than to put him in charge of Circus Circus right away, the outlet reported.

What to watch next

• Further action on the board's unanimous recommendation to license Hussain Mahrous at the M Resort in Henderson.
• Lanni taking on the president and chief operating officer title at Park MGM, as reported by the Review-Journal.
• Whether Christopher Ruffin, who did not rule out a future move to Las Vegas, takes a more hands-on role at Circus Circus.