Stepping down
Stepping down
Snyder to retire from Boyd Gaming, Smith appointed president
Don Snyder, who has served as president of Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming Corp. since 1996, announced his retirement, handing over the job to the company's chief operating officer, Keith Smith.
Snyder has seen Boyd Gaming through a transformation from a small casino operator that Wall Street didn't have high opinions about to one of the nation's top gaming industry companies. Among the key moments in his nine-year run: the construction and opening of Boyd's Borgata resort-casino in Atlantic City and the $1.3 billion acquisition of locals casino operator Coast Casinos.
Snyder leaves the company operating 18 casinos in six states with revenues of $1.73 billion in 2004. The company's stock, which was in single digits a few years back, now trades in the mid-$50 range.
"I feel very good about having been part of this process," Snyder told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "We put a strategic framework in place and the market understood that we did something to create value for our shareholders. Gaming is a very entrepreneurial business. I think I was able to add corporate structure and discipline to the planning process."
When Synder was named the company's president, some questioned the move as his experience was largely in the banking industry and his only involvement in gaming was helping develop the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas.
But Boyd Gaming Chairman Bill Boyd said Snyder was a quick study and brought good ideas to the table.
"Don certainly knows how to pick his exits," Boyd said. "He leaves Boyd Gaming at a time when our company has never looked better, firing on all cylinders, as he likes to say.
"We are optimistic about the future and remain thankful that Don helped provide us with the firm foundation for the growth that the company is yet to enjoy."
Snyder is also confident that the company will continue to grow, especially as plans start to progress with how its 63-acre Stardust site on the Las Vegas Strip will be redeveloped in the years ahead. Snyder also lauded Smith's abilities to run the company.
"I think it's very important that when it's time to turn the page, you get out of the way," he said. "Keith is an operator and the company is at a stage where it needs an operational person in charge."
-Andy Holtmann
Snyder to retire from Boyd Gaming, Smith appointed president
Don Snyder, who has served as president of Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming Corp. since 1996, announced his retirement, handing over the job to the company's chief operating officer, Keith Smith.
Snyder has seen Boyd Gaming through a transformation from a small casino operator that Wall Street didn't have high opinions about to one of the nation's top gaming industry companies. Among the key moments in his nine-year run: the construction and opening of Boyd's Borgata resort-casino in Atlantic City and the $1.3 billion acquisition of locals casino operator Coast Casinos.
Snyder leaves the company operating 18 casinos in six states with revenues of $1.73 billion in 2004. The company's stock, which was in single digits a few years back, now trades in the mid-$50 range.
"I feel very good about having been part of this process," Snyder told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "We put a strategic framework in place and the market understood that we did something to create value for our shareholders. Gaming is a very entrepreneurial business. I think I was able to add corporate structure and discipline to the planning process."
When Synder was named the company's president, some questioned the move as his experience was largely in the banking industry and his only involvement in gaming was helping develop the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas.
But Boyd Gaming Chairman Bill Boyd said Snyder was a quick study and brought good ideas to the table.
"Don certainly knows how to pick his exits," Boyd said. "He leaves Boyd Gaming at a time when our company has never looked better, firing on all cylinders, as he likes to say.
"We are optimistic about the future and remain thankful that Don helped provide us with the firm foundation for the growth that the company is yet to enjoy."
Snyder is also confident that the company will continue to grow, especially as plans start to progress with how its 63-acre Stardust site on the Las Vegas Strip will be redeveloped in the years ahead. Snyder also lauded Smith's abilities to run the company.
"I think it's very important that when it's time to turn the page, you get out of the way," he said. "Keith is an operator and the company is at a stage where it needs an operational person in charge."
-Andy Holtmann
