Like most new owners, they wanted to make the place their own. They wanted to put on a new coat of paint and replace the carpets and change the furniture and make things brighter and shinier and, at the same time, warmer and cozier. But they didn’t just want to make it different — they wanted to make it better.
For the first time since 1995, Delaware Park Casino & Racing has had a major facelift that allows it to keep pace with many of its new neighbors. In this case, though, it wasn’t a matter a keeping up with the Joneses as much as keeping up with the Ballys and Borgatas and Harrahs and Sugarhouses and all of the other, mostly-newer casinos in the mid-Atlantic region.
“That’s always the case, no matter what business you’re in,” says Terry Glebocki, who took over as general manager at Delaware Park in March. “You need to be competitive, you need to be current, and that’s what we’re trying to do here.”
Delaware Park was owned by the Rickman family for 38 years until they sold it to the Clairvest Group and Rubico Gaming LLC, a private equity firm, in 2021. And that’s when the decision to spend $10 million to revamp the casino was made.
Glebocki was hired in the middle of the renovation process (completion is schedule for mid-July). She has more than 30 years of financial management experience and her last job was as chief operating officer at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City. In her almost-two-year stint as CEO, Ocean Casino became profitable after years of losing revenue. In her final year at Ocean Casino, the business posted a gross operating profit of nearly $25 million, after losing $12.4 million the previous year.
Delaware Park GM Terry Glebocki took over in March and
has guided a major transformation of the casino.
Part of that dramatic turnaround — which is even more impressive since it came during the Covid pandemic — was to refurbish and update the casino. While Glebocki was CEO, Ocean Casino spent $15 million on the property to improve the casino and other amenities. So, she understands the process through which Delaware Park has been going.
“What I learned the most from my last job is that the people who really know what needs to be done are your guests and your employees,” she says. “And if you ask them, they’ll tell you how you can make it better and how you can make it fit their needs. And that’s exactly what we’ve been doing here.
\
Click here to view Out and About Article
By Kevin Noonan
Photos by Butch Comegys
