Ryan Eller

Ryan Eller is an industry veteran with more than two decades of experience in the gaming and hospitality industries. A graduate of the US Naval Academy and Harvard business school, Eller has worked in many roles within sizeable companies before joining Live! Casino and Hotel Maryland.

Major Achievements

As a veteran, having served nearly eight years and earning the rank of Major in the Marine Corps, Eller has helped build several casinos around the country, working to create multiple operations such as PCI Gaming in Mobile, AL and Pearle River Resorts in Jackson, MS, managing both properties with local Native American tribes.

Eller has been responsible for leading companies with annual revenues of up to $1bn and often thousands of team members.

Employment

Between 1997 and 2006, Eller served in the United States Marine Corps as a Major.

Eller began his hotel and gaming industry experience at Caesars Entertainment in 2006. After a year and a half, he moved on to become the Treasurer and Executive Director of Finance at Wind Creek Hospitality, where he served until early 2012. These properties had annual revenues of over $600m, 7,000 slot machines and 600 hotel rooms.

After this, he was appointed EVP and CFO of Pearl River Resort. These properties had $300m+ in annual revenue, 3,500 slot machines, 90 tables and 1,200 hotel rooms. 

Following this, Eller spent four years at Genting New York between 2013 and 2017, where he was put in charge of planning a $315m expansion of Genting’s Resorts World Casino New York City in Jamaica, Queens. While overseeing this, he served as President of Genting Americas and managed the design and development of the company’s $4.5bn integrated resort project on the Las Vegas Strip. During this time, Eller led a team of 1,400 team members and properties with 6,000 slot machines and $1bn in revenue.

Eller was subsequently appointed CEO of Empire Resorts, a role he held between 2017 and 2020. There, he oversaw the development of the company’s resort casino in Sullivan County, New York, as well as operations at the Monticello Casino and Raceway.  

After departing from Empire, Eller served as the President of GH Holdings in Austin, TX until October 2022 when he saw an opportunity to join The Cordish Company subsidiary Live!. Currently holding the roles of EVP and GM at Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland in Hanover, he assumes oversight of the day-to-day management and operations of the property.  

With his knowledge of the hotel and gaming industry proven though years of experience, he became focused on the hospitality side of the business. Eller combines his experience in gaming and hotel management to not only oversee the casino but uses his knowledge of hospitality to run the concert halls, restaurants and events hosted at the casino.  

Interviews & Public Speeches

Eller took part in the May/June edition of Gaming America magazine, where he discussed the impact of Las Vegas on regional casino models.