Sands CEO DeSalvio resigns

Robert DeSalvio has stepped down as president and CEO of the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.

DeSalvio has served in the post since 2006 and has been at the helm since the casino opened in 2009.

His resignation will be effective March 14.

The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem has slot and table games, several restaurants – including three Emeril Lagasse restaurants – a hotel, an events center and a shopping mall.

The Sands has consistently been one of the biggest revenue generators of the state's 12 casinos.

In 2013, it grossed $177 million in table game revenue – the highest figure in the state – and $288 million in slot revenue, the second highest in the state.

Recently, computers of Las Vegas Sands Corp. – the parent company of Bethlehem Sands – were hacked, knocked off line and sensitive information was stolen. The Bethlehem casino's website is being investigated as the source of the incursion, according to published reports.

Ron Reese, spokesman for Las Vegas Sands Corp., declined to give a reason for DeSalvio’s departure, but said the search for his replacement soon will begin.

“He was certainly a visible presence at the property. We’ll look for a suitable replacement, and in the meantime the team he has assembled in Bethlehem will be running things,” Reese said.