Anthony Carano, President & COO of Caesars Entertainment

Anthony Carano serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Caesars Entertainment, Inc., one of the largest casino-entertainment companies in the United States. Operating out of the company’s Reno, Nevada base, Carano holds day-to-day operational responsibility across Caesars’ national property portfolio, which spans the Caesars, Harrah’s, Horseshoe, and Eldorado brands.

His position sits alongside CEO Thomas Reeg and Executive Chairman Gary Carano in Caesars’ senior leadership structure a structure that traces its roots to Eldorado Resorts, the Reno-based company that acquired Caesars Entertainment in a 2020 merger and adopted the Caesars name.

Because Caesars operates dozens of land-based casino resorts alongside its Caesars Sportsbook and Caesars Palace Online Casino digital platforms, the President and COO role effectively bridges brick-and-mortar operations with the company’s regulated online betting and iGaming business a dual focus that has become standard among leadership teams at major US casino operators as more states legalize sports betting and online gaming.

At a Glance

Full Name	Anthony Carano
Current Title	President & Chief Operating Officer
Company	Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: CZR)
Industry	Casino gaming, hospitality, sports betting
Based In	Reno, Nevada
Education	BA, University of Nevada; JD & MBA, University of San Francisco
Prior Company	Eldorado Resorts, Inc. (McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP before that)

Current Role at Caesars Entertainment

Career Timeline

Years	Title	Company
2020 – present	President & Chief Operating Officer	Caesars Entertainment, Inc.
2017 – 2020	Chief Operating Officer (title expanded to President within this period, exact date unconfirmed — see note below)	Eldorado Resorts, Inc.
2014 – 2017	Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary	Eldorado Resorts, Inc.
Pre-2014	Attorney (gaming, transactional & regulatory law)	McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP

Recent Business Developments Under Carano’s Operational Leadership

Two dated, sourced examples of investments Caesars pursued during Carano’s tenure as President and COO, both accompanied by his own public statements:

Indiana Grand Racing & Casino expansion (announced March 2021). Caesars announced a $32.5 million investment to expand the gaming floor at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville, Indiana, adding roughly 25,000 square feet, 100 new slot machines, 25 additional table games, and a World Series of Poker-branded poker room. Carano was quoted directly in the company’s announcement, calling the project “a testament to our continued commitment to Indiana.”

Atlantic City master plan (announced April 2021, targeted for completion by 2023). Caesars committed to a $400 million investment across its three Atlantic City properties — Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, and Tropicana Atlantic City — covering renovated guest rooms, upgraded gaming floors, and new dining concepts. The first phase, a $170 million room renovation, was slated to debut in summer 2021. Carano was quoted in Caesars’ announcement describing the investment as building on the company’s “rich, 40-year legacy” in the market. Notably, this investment was also tied to a New Jersey Casino Control Commission condition attached to the 2020 Eldorado–Caesars merger approval, which required the combined company to demonstrate reinvestment in Atlantic City.

Leadership Style

Public statements attributed to Carano in Caesars’ own press materials consistently frame his approach around long-term market commitment and operational follow-through rather than short-term promotion — for example, his comments on both the Indiana and Atlantic City projects emphasize sustained investment in existing markets rather than one-off announcements.

Company and industry materials also frequently connect his leadership style to his family background: as the grandson of Eldorado Resorts founder Don Carano, he is often described as carrying forward the “family-style” guest and employee philosophy Eldorado was known for before its national expansion. This framing appears consistently across company materials, but it is a characterization rather than an independently measurable fact, and we present it as such.

Beyond these sourced statements, some industry write-ups describe him more broadly as a “steady, pragmatic” operator navigating consolidation and digital transformation. That kind of characterization is common in executive profiles industry-wide, and readers should treat it as informed commentary rather than verified biographical fact.

Company Background: Caesars Entertainment

Caesars Entertainment, Inc. traces its current corporate form to Eldorado Resorts, Inc., which was founded in 1996 and grew from a single Reno property into a multi-state casino operator through a series of acquisitions. Its 2020 acquisition of the original Caesars Entertainment Corporation — at the time one of the most storied names in American gaming — resulted in the combined entity taking the Caesars name while Eldorado’s leadership team, including Carano, retained key executive positions.

Today, Caesars Entertainment trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker CZR and operates more than 50 properties across the United States under brands including Caesars, Harrah’s, Horseshoe, Eldorado, and Tropicana. The company reported approximately $11.2 billion in revenue and employed roughly 50,000 people in 2024. Its portfolio includes hotels, casinos, dining and entertainment venues, and — increasingly — regulated digital sports betting and online casino products through Caesars Sportsbook.

On the entertainment side, Caesars Palace’s Colosseum venue continues to anchor the brand’s Las Vegas identity, most recently hosting a new Jennifer Lopez residency that launched in December 2025 — part of a broader roster of headline residencies the venue has hosted for decades. This is company-level brand news rather than something specifically attributed to Carano in available sources, but it’s relevant context for understanding the scale of the property portfolio he oversees operationally.

Involvement in the US Gambling Market

Carano’s career has run in parallel with two of the biggest structural shifts in US gambling: the post-2018 expansion of legal sports betting following the repeal of PASPA (the federal sports-betting ban), and the accompanying wave of casino consolidation that reshaped ownership of major US gaming brands.

As President and COO, Carano oversees operational execution across a company that holds gaming licenses in numerous US states and operates one of the sector’s most recognized retail and online sportsbook brands. That operational remit places him at the center of how a multi-brand, multi-state operator manages regulatory compliance, property performance, and the integration of digital betting products with existing land-based casino operations — issues that are central to how the modern US gambling industry is run.

Education

Carano holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from the University of Nevada, a Juris Doctor from the University of San Francisco School of Law, and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of San Francisco School of Business. This combined legal and business education underpins his earlier work in gaming-regulatory law and his later transition into operational leadership.

What We Could Not Independently Verify

In the interest of factual accuracy, the following claims appear in some secondary or aggregator sources but could not be confirmed against Caesars’ own corporate materials, SEC filings, or other primary sources, and are therefore not presented as confirmed fact above:

Specific board or advisory memberships outside Caesars Entertainment (e.g., university athletics boards or charitable foundations).
The exact month the “President” title was added to his role at Eldorado (sequence confirmed; precise date is not).
Any industry awards or “top executive” recognitions.
A “$400 million Raynham Park sportsbook” figure circulating on at least one competing industry site — checked and found inaccurate (see Recent Business Developments above); the actual project was smaller in scope and was ultimately cancelled.

If these details matter for the final page, they should be confirmed directly with Caesars Entertainment’s investor relations or corporate communications team before publishing.

FAQ

What is Anthony Carano’s role at Caesars Entertainment?

He is President and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for operations across Caesars’ casino, hotel, and sports betting portfolio.

Is Anthony Carano related to Eldorado Resorts’ founder?

Yes. He is the grandson of Don Carano, who founded Eldorado Resorts, the company that later acquired Caesars Entertainment and adopted its name.

Did Anthony Carano work in law before joining the casino industry?

Yes. He practiced gaming and regulatory law at the Nevada firm McDonald Carano Wilson, LLP before joining Eldorado Resorts in 2014.

When did Anthony Carano become COO?

He was named Chief Operating Officer of Eldorado Resorts in May 2017, and continued in that role — later with the added title of President — through the 2020 merger into Caesars Entertainment.

What investments has Carano overseen as COO?

Publicly documented examples include a $32.5 million expansion of Indiana Grand Racing & Casino (2021) and a $400 million multi-property renovation plan across Caesars’ three Atlantic City resorts (announced 2021, targeted for 2023

Anthony Carano: President & COO of Caesars Entertainment