Mark Birtha is currently with Hard Rock International as President of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain.  An executive with the iconic brand, Birtha is responsible for operations of Northern California’s premier gaming, dining, and entertainment destination and its team members.  In addition, he manages the relationship between the Enterprise Rancheria Tribe (owner) and the Seminole Tribe of Florida (partner and owner of Hard Rock International) as well as future expansion and development related to the 900 acre sports and entertainment zone the property sits on.  Prior to this he was the President of the Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield Park, the #1 performing gaming property in Ohio, until its acquisition by MGM Growth Properties for $1 Billion in 2018.  Before joining HRI, Birtha was Vice President and General Manager with Station Casinos, the leading provider of gaming and entertainment in the greater Las Vegas area. Prior to Station Casinos, Birtha was President of Sol Casinos and the AVA Amphitheater in Tucson, AZ where he focused on the strategic vision for the organization and had general management responsibilities for the operations of Casino Del Sol, Casino of the Sun, and the 5,000 seat AVA Amphitheater.  In addition, he oversaw the design, construction and operations of Casino Del Sol’s $130M 4 Star / 4 Diamond hotel resort expansion development.
 

A highly regarded gaming and hospitality executive with over 30 years of experience, Birtha’s career has spanned both operations and development at the leading casino and hotel companies including Mirage Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Marriott International and Starwood.   Birtha graduated from The Hotel School at Cornell University with a Bachelor of Science Degree and as a Merrill Presidential Scholar.  In 2011, he was appointed President of the national executive board of The Cornell Hotel Society that represents 14,000 Hotel School graduates from around the world.  Birtha has been a regular lecturer in The Cornell Hotel School’s Casino Operations and Marketing classes and a featured speaker at multiple gaming, Native American, condo/real estate, hospitality research, and hotel conferences. He was a Cornell University Council member and participates on the advisory boards of The Cornell Hotel School Foundation, G2E, and Global Gaming Business Magazine. 
 

Birtha was recognized as one of the 2006 “Top 40 under 40” business executives by In Business Las Vegas Magazine as well as one of the “Faces of Cleveland 2016” and the “Sacramento 100” most notable business leaders in 2021.  Birtha served on the board of Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio from 2017 – 2019.  In addition, he was recognized as 2017 Human Rights Campaign Ohio honoree/speaker, honorary chair of the 2017 Urban League of Cleveland’s 100^th Anniversary Gala, 2017 Susan G. Komen NE Ohio “Pink Tie Guy” award recipient, 2018 Employer Support of Guard and Reserve of Ohio honoree and keynote speaker, and 2018 Urban League of Akron “President’s Award for Community Leadership” recipient.  He is currently an Honorary Commander with Beale Air Force Base in Northern California as well as on the Board of Greater Sacramento Economic Development Council, Yuba Sutter Chamber of Commerce, and the Yuba-Sutter Council of Economic Development.  Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento at Fire Mountain was selected the “2020 Best Real Estate Project of the Year” by the Sacramento Business Journal.