Foxwoods Resort Casino Names Jens Baake Vice President Of Food & Beverage

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. — Foxwoods Resort Casino(R) has named Jens Baake Vice President, Food and Beverage. Baake comes to Foxwoods from Ameristar Casinos where, as head of hospitality, he helped improve profitability and elevate JD Power guest experience scores.

"Jens is a strong addition to our team," said Foxwoods President & CEO Scott C. Butera. "He has a successful track record of developing and operating award winning food and beverage venues in resort environments. Furthermore, he has a strong association with the region through his years here as a student, educator and food executive."

As Vice President of Food & Beverage at Foxwoods, Baake will work with the President & CEO to develop policies and direct all food and beverage activities and policies. His responsibilities will include developing new food and beverage menus, selecting food and beverage products, advising the President & CEO on operating costs, budgets and forecasts.

Most recently as Vice President of Hospitality, Baake had been with Ameristar Casinos Inc. since 2006 where he was responsible for the Four Diamond Hotel, restaurants, a bakery, banquets, casino beverage, retail, valet, and custodial services.

In 2002 Baake was named the General Manager of Landry Restaurant's Downtown Aquarium in Houston, TX, where he was responsible for its seafood restaurants, retail shops, amusements, aquatic exhibits and concessions. While with Landry, he also was the key executive in the opening and re-conceptualization of several multi-million dollar properties including The Aquarium in Nashville, the Downtown Aquarium in Denver, and the Tower of Americas in San Antonio.

From 1994 to 2001, Baake held managerial positions at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. He was a business manager of food and beverage at Epcot and was instrumental in executing events like the International Food & Wine Festival and Millennium Celebration.

Baake earned his culinary degree at Brenner's Park Hotel in Germany and his MS/BS in Hospitality Management from UMass, Amherst. He has worked at the Boston Harbor and Copley Plaza Hotels, both in Boston. Baake is also a certified Sommelier.

About Foxwoods and MGM Grand at Foxwoods

North America's largest casino, Foxwoods Resort Casino ( www.foxwoods.com ), is located at the Mashantucket Pequot Indian reservation in southeastern Connecticut. Owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, Foxwoods is the East Coast's premier entertainment destination with four award-winning hotels, six casinos with more than 6400 slots and 350 table games, 97 poker tables in the only WPT World Poker Room(TM)on the east coast, High Stakes Bingo Hall and Racebook. Foxwoods also provides two renowned spas, 115,000 square feet of meeting space, a 50,000 sq. ft. ballroom, two theaters and two 18-hole championship golf courses. Foxwoods supports responsible gaming, and plays a leadership role in the Connecticut Council of Problem Gambling, of which it was a founding entity. For more information, call 800-FOXWOODS or visit www.foxwoods.com .

About the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation

The Mashantucket Pequots are a native Algonquin people in southeastern Connecticut who endured centuries of conflict, survival, and continuity on and around one of America's oldest Indian reservations, established in 1666. As the first native people within the borders of the continental United States to suffer attempted genocidal massacre by Puritan Colonists in 1637, the Pequots and their repatriation is an unprecedented story of restoration exhibited in detail at the Tribe's world-class Museum and Research Center ( www.pequotmuseum.org ). Today, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation owns the largest resort casino in North America, Foxwoods Resort Casino ( www.foxwoods.com ), along with several other economic ventures, including the Lake of Isles Golf Course ( www.lakeofisles.com ); a joint-venture partnership establishing the MGM Grand at Foxwoods; and Foxwoods Development Company, dedicated to world-class resort development throughout the United States and Caribbean. All together, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation remains one of the State of Connecticut's highest tax payers and largest employers, and has contributed more than $3 billion to the state of Connecticut in accordance with the Tribe's gaming-revenue-sharing agreement, established in 1993. Likewise, the Tribe provides significant financial contributions to state and local nonprofit organizations that support neighboring communities.

Source: Foxwoods Resort Casino