Less than six months after the completion of its $260 million expansion, Sycuan Casino Resort’s top executive is out.
Former general manager John Dinius, 47, had been with Sycuan for 26 years — after starting as a bingo parlor clerk and working his way up to the highest management position. Reached by phone Thursday, Dinius said he couldn’t discuss the reason for his departure because he was bound by strict confidentially and was in the midst of “the separation process” with Sycuan. A spokesperson for the casino said no statement would be forthcoming and that Dinius “retired from Sycuan to pursue new opportunities.”
Dinius, however, said he wasn’t sure what his next career move would be.
“I just think we needed to go in different directions,” he said, adding that the split was amicable. “I look back on the past 26 years as invaluable. I have nothing but fond memories and I wish them nothing but the best. … and (will) take some time to figure out what I do next.”
Dinius’s leaving came just months after Sycuan’s March 27 grand opening of its first hotel and resort, complete with Las Vegas-style amenities. It’s also the second high-level shake-up at a San Diego casino this year. In January, Fred A. Buro, a casino executive and gaming consultant, was brought on as CEO of Pala Casino Spa & Resort after former longtime CEO Bill Bembenek had been ousted around the holidays.
Before being replaced, Bembenek had been open about Pala’s financial struggles in the ultra-competitive San Diego-area casino market, acknowledging an unspecified number of layoffs in 2018. The casino also deferred construction of a new luxury hotel tower that was to be part of an $170 million expansion.
Over the past half decade, eight of the region’s 10 casinos have been under construction to varying degrees, and the industry’s building boom has exceeded an estimated $1.5 billion in spending, including Sycuan’s $260 million expansion.
Dinius, a San Diego native, got his first job as a pull tabs clerk in what was then Sycuan’s bingo parlor — which ushered Indian tribal gaming into the county. Dinius held a variety of jobs as he climbed the casino ladder, including slots attendant, supervisor, director and finally, general manager, a position he held for nearly five years.
On Thursday, Dinuis said he was proud of the resort project, which put Sycuan on par to compete with other casino hotel resorts, particularly those closest to it in East County, Viejas Casino & Resort and Barona Resort & Casino.
“It just feels like a incredible achievement to be part of the planning, developing and creating that beautiful property,” Dinius said.
“And I really enjoyed my time out there.”