Mike Ensign

Mike Ensign, a retired gaming executive who helped usher in the new era of Las Vegas casinos and father of former U.S. Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, died in his Las Vegas home. He was 79. Ensign served as CEO of Circus Circus Enterprises, which eventually became Mandalay Resort Group in 1999, and oversaw properties that included Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur and Circus Circus. The company was sold to MGM Resorts International in 2005 for $7.9 billion. Ensign moved to Las Vegas in 1974, bringing the elder Alamo and others with him to join William Bennett at Circus Circus Enterprises. Ensign left the company and bought a stake in the Gold Strike Casino at Hoover Dam. But he eventually would return to Circus Circus, which bought Gold Strike Resorts for $500 million in 1995 and named Ensign as vice-chairman and CEO of the company. Ensign, who rarely granted interviews to the press, was named chairman of the company in 1998 and retired in 2005 after Mandalay Resort Group was sold to MGM. Ensign moved to Las Vegas in 1974, bringing the Tony Alamo Sr and others with him to join William Bennett at Circus Circus Enterprises. Ensign left the company and bought a stake in the Gold Strike Casino at Hoover Dam. But he eventually would return to Circus Circus, which bought Gold Strike Resorts for $500 million in 1995 and named Ensign as vice-chairman and CEO of the company. Ensign, who rarely granted interviews to the press, was named chairman of the company in 1998 and retired in 2005 after Mandalay Resort Group was sold to MGM. Mike Ensign married John Ensign’s mother Sharon, and went on to adopt then-15-year-old John and his two siblings. Sharon Ensign died in 2014. The couple came under scrutiny during a scandal that led to their son’s resignation from the Senate in 2011. The couple paid John Ensign’s mistress and campaign treasurer, Cynthia Hampton, $96,000 in 2008. The Federal Election Commission ruled the payment was not a gift but a severance, which counted as an undisclosed campaign contribution. Both Ensign and his parents were fined.