By JACQUELYNN D. POWERS PORTRAIT: FRANCIS & FRANCIS

While Caesars Palace is bustling with its usual casino and retail traffic, hotel president Gary Selesner is ushering former President Bill Clinton through the megaresort. However, Clinton is far more interested in meeting the employees than getting a casino tour. "I was able to go down to the cafeteria and greet the former President of the United States and walk with him into a room filled with hundreds of very excited employees," Selesner says. "What they just experienced, they will remember for the rest of their lives. And it happened at Caesars Palace." These major moments occur often in Selesner's role as head of one of the most recognizable hotels in the world--whether it's attending Celine Dion's farewell concert or dining at one of the celebrity-chef-helmed restaurants on property.

Of course, running Caesars Palace takes more effort than just being glamorous. In his capacity as president, Selesner oversees 5,000 full-time employees. The 85-acre site spans 24 restaurants, 3,340 guest rooms, a 50,000-square-foot spa, the 4,300-seat Colosseum theater and The Forum Shops. "It's great to run a billion-dollar business," Gary enthuses. "It's great to travel around the world. It's great to be in a job where you get to use all of the creativity you have every single day. The Caesars Palace name has been famous for over 40 years. I never forget that."

After several recent mergers, a new influx of capital (from a recent $17 billion takeover by two private-equity groups, Apollo Management and TPG Capital) means that Caesars Palace is about to receive a billion-dollar makeover that will bring the resort's capacity to 4,000 rooms by the end of next year. At the centerpiece of the plan is the 23-story Octavius Tower with 665 rooms. Also under construction are a 263,000- square-foot meeting and convention center, three swimming pools and three luxury villa suites (with butler service, terraces and more than 10,000 square feet of space). This is the first new construction since the Augustus. . .

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