Anthony Sanfilippo, the former longtime Harrah’s executive who has spent the past two years as CEO of slot manufacturer Multimedia Games, has been named the new president and chief executive officer of Pinnacle Entertainment.
Sanfilippo will succeed John V. Giovenco, who has served as Pinnacle’s interim chief executive officer since November, when former CEO Dan Lee resigned. Giovenco will remain a member of the Pinnacle board of directors.
Sanfilippo has 25 years of experience in the casino industry, mostly with Harrah’s, where he was president of the operator’s central and western divisions a well as CEO of Harrah’s New Orleans. As president and CEO of Multimedia Games, he has led the manufacturer’s transition from a Class II operator into a Class III contender, bringing in executives such as former Harrah’s marketing chief Ginny Shanks and longtime Bally sales VP Mick Roemer.
Multimedia announced that Chief Operating Officer Patrick Ramsey will assume the additional role of interim CEO, effective immediately. Stephen Greathouse, a director since April 2009, has been named vice chairman of the board. Ramsey joined Multimedia Games in September 2008, after serving for more than six years in various executive and operational positions with Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc.
“Consumers today have an ever-increasing variety of options to fulfill their demand for entertainment,” Sanfilippo said of his new job at Pinnacle.
“Our priority will be to fully leverage the portfolio of quality regional gaming properties that Pinnacle possesses with a commitment to offering a worldclass guest experience in order to capture increasing share of this demand. Providing an environment that is the destination of choice for our customers and our team members alike will serve as the cornerstone for building our foundation for near-term and long-term growth.”
