Trump names new CEO

Juliano had been holding the title of acting CEO since his predecessor, James B. Perry, abruptly retired in June while the company was in the midst of sales talks that ultimately proved unsuccessful.

He may be taking on the toughest job in the casino industry - in effect becoming the real-life “Apprentice” for taskmaster Donald Trump, who dismisses contestants on his NBC reality show “The Apprentice”, with his catchphrase “You're fired”, and also has had a dizzying succession of casino CEOs in the past seven years. Some of them left amid headline-grabbing squabbles. Now Juliano assumes the hot seat.

Juliano, who formerly held the title of chief operating officer, was part of a new management team headed by Perry that was supposed to revive the Trump casinos following their exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2005. A veteran of the Caesars casinos in Atlantic City and Nevada, he had served as president of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas before joining Trump.

Trump's post-bankruptcy turnaround has been slower than expected. The company has made us$ 225 million in upgrades to its three casinos but is still playing catch-up to rivals that have added new hotel towers and an array of retail and entertainment amenities to become more attractive to customers.