Pinnacle CEO resigns after County Council outburst
(Updated 11:59 a.m.)
Less than a week after reportedly threatening a St. Louis County Councilman over a casino zoning vote, the top executive at Pinnacle Entertainment resigned Monday morning.
Dan Lee has stepped down from his job running the company to “pursue other business interests” according to a statement from Pinnacle, which owns two St. Louis-area casinos and plans to open a third in the spring.
Lee flew in from Las Vegas for Tuesday’s St. Louis County Council meeting and interrupted the proceedings after Steve Stenger of Affton voted in favor of re-zoning land in north St. Louis County to build a casino there. Stenger represents the part of south St. Louis County where Pinnacle is building the $370 million River City Casino, which Lee reportedly referred to as “the largest investment your district has ever seen.” Before the meeting, Lee urged Stenger to vote against the north county measure, and after Stenger voted for it, reportedly ran towards the dias and said the councilman has “made the worst move in his political career.”
Aside from its Lemay casino project, Pinnacle is in court with state gaming regulators over the aging President Casino downtown. This summer, the Missouri Gaming Commission shot down Pinnacle’s hopes to either move or replace the boat, and suggested that it could put the ailing casino’s license up for grabs by next summer. A new North County casino would likely be a strong competitor for that license - a valuable commodity in a state where casino licenses are capped at the current 13. Pinnacle also owns the two-year-old Lumiere Place casino downtown.
Lee apologized for his outburst last week, but the Missouri Gaming Commission on Friday launched an investigation into the matter. By Monday morning, the seven-year chief of the casino company was gone.
A Pinnacle spokesman in St. Louis said Monday morning that the resignation would have no impact on its local operations, both at Lumiere and in the construction of River City, and that the President lawsuit continues. He said Lee’s resignation was “his own decision.”
Two Pinnacle board members - Richard Goeglein and John Giovenco - will run Pinnacle while they search for a new chief executive.
Stenger, D-Affton, said he was surprised to learn the Lee had quit, and that he had not sought Lee’s removal.
“It’s a shame that he did what he did and it gives me no joy that he has resigned,” Stenger said. “I do want to say, that that instance of his behavior and conduct is in no way indicative of the relationship and dealings I’ve had with Pinnacle Entertainment before that point and up to today.
“Dan Lee did a lot of good things for my district, and Pinnacle has truly been a good constituent that made a major investment in a part of south county that really needs it.”
Reporter Paul Hampel contributed information for this story.
Check back later and see Tuesday’s Post-Dispatch for more on this developing story.
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Poor Dan Lee. He now has to face the Don in Vegas and explain why he came off sounding like a Mafia Hoodlum at a City Council Meeting. Will he get an offer he can’t refuse? Or will he get a one-way ride in a cabin cruiser? Tune in next week for the next thrilling episode of “Executives sink and Gambling Boats don’t.”
Someone made him an offer he couldn’t refuse?
Bad Idea.
They need him to woo the Spanish lake people so they stop their suit.
We need that casino in North county. WE can’t graduated the kids that attend Riverview and Hazelwood school district, so the casino will need EVS people and cooks, and if they are 5 year attendees of high school and played Football, they could be trained to be security guards. Its better they work at the casino then walk around with their pants down to their crack of their butts showing and getting involved in drive-bys. Sounds like a win win issue.
Too bad the idiot County coucilmen that voted in favor of this plan can’t be forced to resign as well. St. Louis County should be concentrating on building ONE casino complex that has all types of entertainment for families, visitors and gamblers and then splitting the revenue amongst all areas of the county. Diluting the casino revenues with multiple casinos will go the same route as having had a Starbucks on every corner.
Boorish behavior aside, just why is it that Steve Stenger would vote for a casino in North County to compete with one that isn’t even open yet in his district?
That’s actually a very good question! What’s in it for Stenger to have voted that way? Was this a payback? A quid pro Quo?
Anybody know?
Hey, Steve Stenger, how about you answering this question???
It’s all about the money….I like the idea of as many casinos as possible, then everyone will have their own casino to blow their hard earned cash the way they want. Then with so many casinos no one will make any money and they will all close. This is just a tax on the poor and those who failed high school math. Wake up people!!!!! No such thing as a free lunch or casino food bar…..everyone pays….
thegoviskillingme, I don’t think the money goes directly to the local school districts. When the whole casino thing passed, all the tax revenue would go to education. It does. But the state cut off most of its educational funding from the general revenue fund in the process. I believe the casino taxes go into the state’s educational pot, then spread out through the state. North county would have more jobs to bring in more income tax which goes to the feds and the state. Real Estate tax is the big ticket to help the local school districts directly.
It always amazes me how many people on these blogs think that everything is funny. I like to read other people “INTELLIGENT” comments to get a different perspective on what I’m thinking. It’s sad, that some people see everything as a joke. Intelligent conversation is always good for the mind. I hear The Funny Bone Comedy theater is looking for comedians.
If you have ever gone to a city council meeting anywhere you would realize how someone would go crazy after listening to all of those air head bottom of the barrel politicians. They don’t have a clue whats going on and they still continue to babble on moving their mouths without engaging their brains. I’m surprised there is not much more violence in those meetings.
He will move on and make more money. There is a demand for people like him that get crazy.
My God. I live in NoCo and I hate the very thought of another casino. There is only so much money out there for the casinos to get-building new ones just takes business away from the “old” ones.