Paul Curtis Steelman (born September 23, 1955), a native of

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, is an American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who is recognized as a designer of global entertainment, hospitality, and gaming architecture based in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

and

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

. Paul has designed buildings for the mavericks of the gaming industry, including

Kirk Kerkorian Kerkor Kerkorian ( hy, Գրիգոր Գրիգորեան; June 6, 1917 – June 15, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverl ...

Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...

Sheldon Adelson Sheldon Gary Adelson (; August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American businessman, investor, political donor and philanthropist. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which owns th ...

, Francis Lui,

Lawrence Ho Lawrence Ho Yau-lung (; born 1977) is a Hong Kong-born Canadian businessman. Starting his career as an investment banker at Jardine Fleming and Citibank, in 2001 he took over operations at Melco International. Later named chairman and CEO, ...

, Tan Sri Dato' Lim Kok Thay, Tan Sri Dr Chen Lip Keong,

Prince Albert of Monaco Albert II – Website of the Palace of Monaco (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, since 2005. Albert was born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and he is the second child and only son of Prince Rai ...

Bob Stupak Robert Edward Stupak (April 6, 1942 – September 25, 2009) was a Las Vegas casino owner and entrepreneur. He was also a poker player, winning titles at the World Series of Poker and the Super Bowl of Poker. He also competed on the World Poker ...

, Frank Modica, Phil Satre, Derek Stevens and

Stanley Ho Stanley Ho Hung-sun (; 25 November 192126 May 2020) was a Hong Kong-Macau billionaire businessman. His original patrilineal surname was Bosman, which was later sinicized to 何 (Ho). He was the founder and chairman of SJM Holdings, which owns ...

. His firm,

Steelman Partners Steelman Partners is an American international architecture and interior design firm specializing in entertainment architecture, interior design, lighting design, graphic design, 3D design, and master planning. The firm has designed casinos and in ...

, designed the $240 million

Sands Macau Sands Macao () is a hotel and casino resort located in Sé, Macau, SAR - China. It is owned and operated by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, and was designed by Steelman Partners, LLP. It comprises a casino, and a 289-suite hotel. Las Vegas ...

casino resort which was notable for going from "blueprint to opening in 600 days", building a reputation for rapid development sometimes referred to as "Sands speed." The project won praise for its "bright, airy design" and sunken stage which "allows everyone in the theater to get a spectacular view of the entertainment." According to ''

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. "The Record," as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important historical record of the unfolding debates in a ...

'', Steelman's firm had total revenue in 2016 of over $48 million and design revenues and in 2016 rated his company as the 91st largest architectural firm.

Beginnings

Steelman was born on September 23, 1955 in

. He grew up in the small beach community of

Longport, New Jersey Longport is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey on the Atlantic Ocean shore of Absecon Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 895,Atlantic City High School Atlantic City High School (ACHS) is a comprehensive public high school in Atlantic City, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. It is the lone secondary school of the Atlantic City School District. The current school building opened i ...

in 1973. Paul began working as an architect in his father Edgar's architectural practice before graduating from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

in 1977. He was employed by Wasleski Steelman, the city of Atlantic City,

Golden Nugget Atlantic City Golden Nugget Atlantic City is a hotel, casino, and marina located in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Opened in 1985 as Trump's Castle, it was renamed Trump Marina in 1997. Landry's, Inc. purchased the casino from Trump Entertainment Resorts in Febr ...

Corporation and Resorts International, Atlantic City. In 1987 he founded his own firm.

Career

Steelman worked on

Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...

hotel which in 1989 became the first Strip hotel to focus on eating and entertainment in addition to gaming tables. Since then, he has worked on numerous projects, often in collaboration with casino developers. In 1987 he founded his own architectural firm, Paul Steelman LTD, in Las Vegas, Nevada. His design mentors were

Joel Bergman Joel Bergman (August 20, 1936 – August 24, 2016) was an American architect who has designed several landmark casinos. Bergman was born in Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1965. Projects Stern and Associa ...

and Henry Conversano. The firm, now called

, owns and operates several other design companies including DSAA (interior design), Shop12 (lighting, theater, ride and attraction design), Inviro Studios (film animations), MARQI (branding and corporate identity), Competition Interactive (slot machine design and manufacturer), Steelman Development (commercial real estate), Steelman Aviation (airplane charter and management), and PCEG (EB5 Regional Center). Steelman Partners has offices in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

; Macau PRC; Zhuhai PRC;

Phnom Penh, Cambodia Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become ...

;

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

; and

Amsterdam, Netherlands Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban are ...

. Paul Steelman and his firm have designed many casino projects around the world that include the following:

Resorts World Las Vegas Resorts World Las Vegas is a resort, mall, and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada, United States. The property had been the site of the Stardust Resort and Casino until 2007, when Boyd Gaming demolished the resort to develop its ...

; Circa Resort and Casino;

; Four Seasons Macau; City of Dreams Shopping Center Macau; Hard Rock Casino Macau;

Galaxy Macau Galaxy Macau (, Portuguese: Galáxia Macau) is a casino resort located in Cotai, Macau, SAR of People's Republic of China. Construction on the Cotai project began in 2002. Its opening was rescheduled several times. Its developer, Galaxy Ente ...

; Harrahs, California; Harrahs AK-Chin, Arizona; Harrahs Tunica, Mississippi; Harrahs Vicksburg, Mississippi; Harrahs Kansas City; Caesar's Indiana; Caesars Magical Empire, Las Vegas;

JW Marriott JW Marriott is a luxury hotel brand owned by Marriott International. History The JW Marriott brand was established in 1984, with the opening of the first hotel in Washington, D.C. It was named as a tribute to J.W. Marriott, the founder of Marri ...

, Las Vegas; Showboat, Las Vegas;

Stratosphere The stratosphere () is the second layer of the atmosphere of the Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is an atmospheric layer composed of stratified temperature layers, with the warm layers of air ...

, Las Vegas; Casinos Locarno, Switzerland; Thun Casino, Switzerland; Casino Rheinfelden, Switzerland; Swiss Casino Zurich, Switzerland; Swiss Casino St Gallen, Switzerland; MGM Casino and Theme Park, Las Vegas;

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

Expansions and Renovations, Las Vegas; Beau Rivage, Mississippi, Hard Rock Biloxi, Mississippi,

Foxwoods Resort Casino Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casinos have more t ...

, Connecticut;

Showboat Atlantic City The Showboat Atlantic City is a resort hotel and former casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Showboat opened as a casino hotel in 1987 and closed in 2014; the hotel reopened in 2016. It is owned by developer Bart Blatstein. History On March ...

, New Jersey; Steel Pier Atlantic City, New Jersey;

Solaire Resort & Casino Solaire Resort & Casino (formerly known as Solaire Manila) is a resort and casino in Entertainment City, a massive complex built along the Bay City area of Parañaque, in Metro Manila, Philippines. Overview Solaire Resort & Casino was the first d ...

, Philippines; Sochi Casino, Russia; Grand Casino Riviera, France; Casino Grand Via, Spain; Grand Casino, Finland; The Grand Ho Tram, Vietnam; Star Gold Coast, Australia;

Seminole Casino The Seminole Casino Immokalee is a Class III tribal gaming casino and hotel in the town of Immokalee, Florida, Immokalee, Florida, United States, 35 miles from Naples, Florida, Naples. The Seminole Casino is owned and operated by the Seminole Tribe ...

, Florida; Sun City Entertainment Center, South Africa, The Casino at the Empire, London; London Clubs, Bahamas; Nagaworld, Cambodia. Currently Steelman is designing Casino Van Dom, Vietnam; Naga 3 at NagaWorld, Cambodia; Imperial Pacific, Saipan; Lotus Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam; Genting Malaysia Master Plan; Galaxy Media Center, Macau; Galaxy 1000 Room Hotel, Macau; Naga Vladivostok; and Scotts Valley Casino in California. Steelman worked for billionaire

Phil Ruffin Phillip Gene Ruffin (born March 14, 1935) is an American businessman. He owns the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino and Circus Circus Las Vegas, Circus Circus Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, in addition to a number of other enterprises including hot ...

on designing the a 2,750-room casino called the ''Montreux'', an entertainment property modeled after a Swiss-themed lakefront hotel which includes a 465-foot-tall observation wheel which "scoops riders from the floor above the casino," according to a report in ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' magazine. The design's interior was a "mix of glass artwork, waterfalls and reflective surfaces," similar to boutique hotels in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, according to a report in the ''

Las Vegas Sun The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily Subscription business model, subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays ...

''. Steelman's firm designed a $6.2 billion tourism development in

in 2010. A reporter commented on his design style: One Steelman design invention was a sleek transformable ballroom inside a casino that can undergo several makeovers within a single day, enabling event organizers to use the space for different purposes, and transform it in less than two hours: Steelman received a gaming manufacturing and distribution license from the State of Nevada on February 23, 2017 for his subsidiary company, Competition Interactive LLC. Competition Interactive has designed a new skill based slot machine named Running Rich Racing, which will be placed in casinos in 2017. Steelman's firm has employed architects who later founded their own architecture firms, such as Gemie Knisely of GK3 and Kim Daoust and Jordan Bañares of Tandem. Steelman was featured in ''Asian Gaming'' annual publication entitled "Asian Gaming 50" as 32nd in 2008 and as 33rd in 2009.

Personal life

Paul Steelman is married to Maryann Steelman (RN Registered Nurse). They have two children Stephen Steelman a film director and Suzanne Steelman a graduate Architect working at Steelman Partners. Paul and Maryann have hosted fundraisers at their home to support the

Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra The Las Vegas Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded in 1998

. Paul serves on the board of directors for The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute in Las Vegas, The Federal Law Enforcement Foundation in New York, and The Clemson School of Architecture at Clemson University in South Carolina.

References

External links

Steelman Partners, LLP

Paul Steelman's Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steelman, Paul 20th-century American architects 1955 births Living people Atlantic City High School alumni People from Atlantic City, New Jersey People from Longport, New Jersey Clemson University alumni Architects from New Jersey