Former MGM exec D’Arrigo named CFO for tribe that owns Palms

Former MGM Resorts International executive Dan D’Arrigo has been named chief financial officer of the gaming enterprise of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, the owner of the Palms.

“I am extremely honored and humbled to be joining the San Manuel enterprise,” D’Arrigo said in a statement. “The tribe has achieved much success while also assembling a top-notch leadership team under (CEO) Laurens’ (Vosloo) direction. I look forward to working alongside such experienced colleagues and further positioning the enterprise for long-term sustainable growth.”

D’Arrigo left MGM as its chief financial officer in 2019 as part of the company’s labor cost-cutting strategy, MGM 2020.

Vosloo said D’Arrigo would play a critical role in the tribe’s fiscal strategy, growth and development.

“One of Dan’s greatest strengths is his credibility with the investment community and capital markets,” Vosloo said in a statement. “We are very pleased that Dan is joining our team at a time when the tribe is experiencing tremendous growth and has such great potential for new opportunities.”

D’Arrigo spent 23 years with MGM and helped engineer the company’s acquisition of Mirage Resorts. He also served on the board of directors of MGM China, the subsidiary overseeing the company’s operations in Macao.

The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians owns the 703-room Palms after acquiring it for $650 million from Red Rock Resorts last year. Gaming regulators approved the sale in late 2021 and the tribe indicated it would reopen the resort this spring. The Palms has been closed since March 2020 when all of the state’s casinos were temporarily forced to shut down to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The tribe, based in Highland, California, also operates the state’s largest casino Yaamava’ Resort in San Bernardino County, which opened in 2005.

The tribe has been a major supporter of philanthropic causes in Southern Nevada, donating $9 million to UNLV in 2020. The gift — the largest the tribe had ever bestowed outside the state of California — supports course development and an endowed chair at the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality and provides curricular, faculty and program support at the William S. Boyd School of Law, particularly with an emphasis on tribal gaming.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.