Giovenco paid $125,000 bonus for Pinnacle CEO duties

Pinnacle Entertainment’s temporary chief executive officer earned a $125,000 bonus for his five-month stewardship of the Las Vegas-based regional casino operator.

The company’s board of directors announced the award to John Giovenco in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday.

Giovenco, the former president of Hilton Gaming, took over Pinnacle in November following the resignation of former CEO Dan Lee, who stepped down from the company after a public dispute with a St. Louis election official.

Giovenco was replaced by last month by new CEO Anthony Sanfilippo, a former Harrah’s Entertainment executive. Giovenco remains as a member of the company’s board of directors.

During Giovenco’s tenure, Pinnacle opened new $380 million casino in suburban St. Louis and made plans to close an aging riverboat casino in the city’s downtown market by this summer.

Also, the company scaled back on plans for second hotel-casino in Lake Charles, La., turning this project into an expansion of its L’Auberge du Lac resort. Also, Pinnacle cancelled a planned $2 billion development project in Atlantic City, putting its 26-acre Boardwalk location up for sale.

In addition to his bonus, Giovenco, according to a filing with the SEC, earned $75,000 a month as Pinnacle’s CEO plus stock options.