All In
Terry Glebocki raises the game for Delaware Park Casino & Racing.
Terry Glebocki is not one to shy away from a challenge, particularly when it comes to her career. That’s why she embraced the opportunity, when new owners, Clairvest Group Inc. and Rubico Acquisition Corporation, approached her in early 2023 to take the helm of Delaware Park Casino & Racing as President and General Manager. Just months into her first year, Glebocki is successfully managing daily operations, implementing new initiatives, and curating Delaware Park’s future, all the while overseeing the property’s unprecedented $10 million renovation project.
Just as she did with other properties before, Glebocki is plotting Delaware Park’s course for long-term success. For these reasons (and many more), she has quickly earned the respect of her peers, including colleagues who have been at Delaware Park for decades.
“It is hard to believe that Terry has been with Delaware Park Casino & Racing for only six months, as she has quickly transitioned into a trusted and respected leader of the company,” says Kevin DeLucia, Delaware Park Chief Financial Officer. “She has made changes that have significantly increased the efficiency and financial performance of operations while embracing the history and traditions of Delaware Park and what it means to the local community. Terry has accomplished these monumental tasks in short order by engaging and empowering the management team at Delaware Park, demonstrating truly successful leadership.”
Delaware Park Casino & Racing has come a long way from its former days as a pari-mutuel racetrack opening in 1937, then a casino in 1996. Easily accessible from I-95 and just minutes from the Delaware Memorial Bridge, guests can fully experience all the new amenities—all part of the property’s $10 million renovation project—in a brighter, modern environment. The design transformation adds a new level of sophistication to the space, with its featured custom chandeliers, lighting fixtures, gaming furniture, carpeting, vaulted ceilings, and more. The renovation also added a high-end table games pit featuring blackjack and multiple styles of mini-baccarat, an exclusive high-limits slot area, and a new on-site eatery, Foo Noodle. A newly expanded VIP bar, “RBar,” is slated for a fall opening, which will also include video poker machines for guests.
The latest state-of-the-art slot machines are now positioned in pod-like seating styles, which allows more privacy and space for the slot player than traditional linear banks.
“Because of our positioning as an agent for the Delaware State Lottery, our slot product is one of the most diverse and newest in comparison to other states,” says Glebocki. “The agreements between the state and our slot vendors gives us quick access to the newest and most popular themes in response to guest preferences and trends.”
Among the popular options today include Lightning Link, Dragon Link, and popular Buffalo titles just to mention a few. Besides 1,900 slot machines, Delaware Park offers live casino table games, a poker room, professional and college sports betting, simulcast horseracing, and live seasonal Thoroughbred racing.
Prior to joining Delaware Park, Glebocki was the CEO of Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City where she led the property’s unprecedented turnaround, highlighted by earnings improvement of more than $130 million over a two-year period. While leading Ocean Casino she also served as the President of Atlantic City’s Casino Association representing all Atlantic City casinos to address gaming industry issues at both the state and local levels. While CEO of Ocean Casino, Glebocki was also a trustee for North Beach Atlantic City, a collaboration of businesses that worked together to make the northern part of Absecon Island a tourism attraction and destination.
Before her tenure as CEO of Ocean Casino, Glebocki served as Ocean’s CFO and was successful at driving top-line revenues while simultaneously reducing expenses. In fact, Ocean experienced its first profitable month in the history of the building just 90 days after Glebocki was hired. Glebocki oversaw capital projects that have helped to establish Ocean as a leader in the intensely competitive Atlantic City market. Glebocki also sat on Stockton University’s Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism (LIGHT) Advisory Board from 2020 to 2021.
Glebocki’s 35 years of gaming experience brings proven accounting and financial acumen from highly competitive gaming jurisdictions across the United States to Delaware Park Casino & Racing. As VP of Finance at Revel Entertainment Group, she helped the company build a $2.4 billion property that opened in Atlantic City in 2012. She was later promoted to CFO by the board of directors where she improved the property’s financial results by $70 million in the last year of operation. Glebocki led the sales process of Revel and toured many suitors, including the team from Tropicana. They did not buy Revel but instead hired Glebocki as their corporate CFO. Revel would reopen three years later as Ocean Casino Resort.
While at Tropicana, Glebocki was responsible for the finances of eight casinos in six states and in Aruba. She helped Tropicana realize expense savings and grow revenues across its entire portfolio, which nearly doubled profits and resulted in the ultimate sale of the company to Eldorado.
With all her experience, and all that has been accomplished under Glebocki’s leadership, Delaware Park Casino & Racing’s future looks bright. The next phase of the renovation project includes new restaurant concepts, complete with fresh menus and a facelift for at least two of the venue’s eateries. Based on her performance thus far, this “Power Woman” is definitely the right person for the job.
Delaware Park Casino & Racing
777 Delaware Park Blvd.
Wilmington, DE, 19804
(302) 994-2521
delawarepark.com
777 Delaware Park Blvd.
Wilmington, DE, 19804
(302) 994-2521
delawarepark.com
Photo courtesy of Out & About Magazine/Butch Comegys
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life, September 2023.
