BETTING ALL IN: MULLIN LEADS ECHO'S $625M PUNT

FEW Australian CEOs would have leaped out of a moving car to escape gun-toting carjackers.

Not many would have played as running back in a college football team alongside players who later became NFL stars.

And how many link the success of their business to the roll of a dice? Meet Larry Mullin, the American-born boss of Brisbane-based casino giant Echo Entertainment.

The 50-year-old was lured to Australia from the United States east-coast casino hub of Atlantic City to head the entity that demerged from Tabcorp last year.

Echo Entertainment is now Queensland’s fifth-largest listed company, with a market capitalisation of $3.1 billion and revenues of nearly $1.8 billion. It employs more than 7000 staff.

Mullin is a laid-back sports-loving family man who has easily transitioned to an Australian lifestyle.

He grew up on the hard streets of Philadelphia, where life experiences had at a young age more than prepared him for anything he would encounter in the world of casinos.

He had the speed and strength to be a football star, but the economic reality of life meant he had to get a job as soon as he left college.

He started his working life at a funeral home and mortuary then took a gamble on a career in the casino industry, starting at the bottom as a hotel porter.

The young Mullin looked and learned. And his rise through the ranks of the gaming industry rivals any match-clinching football play.

Mullin has successfully managed some of the most lucrative gaming properties in the US and has become a personal friend to a string of superstars and celebrities, including Jon Bon Jovi and Jennifer Lopez.

He’s a high-achiever with a highly focussed business mind – the perfect combination to steer a billion-dollar makeover of a company that owns four of the most lucrative gaming properties in Australia.

A business plan that aims to change the perception of our casinos will deliver a total entertainment experience for locals and visitors. Read the entire cover story by getting your copy of Brisbane Business News - out now at a newsagent near you.