Modern Operations: By 1976 Playboy Enterprises was in trouble. Realizing this, Hefner hired a professional newspaper business manager named Derick Daniels to run the empire. Daniels recognized quickly that Playboy Enterprises' rambling diversification was losing the company millions. He closed several unprofitable Playboy clubs and hotels; reduced budgets, especially those of the film and record companies; and cut the payroll by firing 100 employees--70 in one day--including five vice-presidents. The purges were effective and Daniels led the company back to concentrating on magazine publishing, meanwhile encouraging one other profitable sector: Playboy's London gambling casinos.