LINCOLN – Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc. Executive Chairman John E. Taylor Jr. said Monday that he is “reluctantly” stepping down and giving up his seat on the board of directors after nearly a decade of involvement with the publicly traded gaming company.
Twin River announced Soohyung Kim, a top executive at Standard General LP, Twin River’s largest institutional shareholder, has been appointed board chairman.
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Taylor, a Rhode Island native and former GTECH executive, has been involved with Twin River since 2010, when the holding company for the Lincoln casino – then just a video slots parlor – was emerging from bankruptcy after a previous owner got into financial trouble.
In recent years, Twin River Worldwide Holdings has made numerous acquisitions nationwide, including casinos in Delaware, Mississippi and Colorado. A purchase of three hotel casinos in Colorado is expected to close early next year.
The company also opened a casino hotel in Tiverton in 2018.
Last month, Twin River Worldwide Holdings reported a profit of $7 million in the third quarter, a 57.3% decline from the same period a year earlier. Some industry observers have speculated that Encore Boston Harbor casino, which opened in June, sapped Twin River of some of its gambling revenue. Twin River acknowledged last month that it was facing increased competition in the New England market, specifically at its flagship Lincoln location.
Still, it wasn’t immediately clear what led to Taylor’s departure.
“The company has become a major force in the gaming space and is on a powerful financial trajectory,” Taylor said in a statement Monday. “I am proud of what we’ve accomplished and have nothing but good wishes for the company’s continued success in the future. I took this step reluctantly, but feel the time is right for me to take on other opportunities where I can help create similar value.”
Taylor earned a salary of $750,000 in 2018, according to Twin River.
In a statement, Kim called Taylor’s tenure “effective” and credited him with leading the company to a “significant period of growth,” including getting the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this year.
“His expertise, insight and steady guidance have been invaluable to the business,” Kim said.
Twin River said Kim has been a director of the company since 2016 and has been involved in aspects of board governance and strategy. He “will bring foundational knowledge of the company along with a thorough understanding of the markets in which Twin River operates,” the statement said.
Twin River started trading publicly in March, and its share price hit a high of $33.40 on April 9. Shares of Twin River declined after that, closing at a low of $21.33 on Aug. 19. Twin River closed at $23.60 on Monday.
Standard General LP, a New York hedge fund, is listed as Twin River’s largest institutional shareholder, as of Sept. 30, with 12.3 million shares, more than 35% of Twin River’s outstanding shares. Kim is a founding partner of Standard General and serves as the firm’s managing partner and chief investment officer.
William Hamilton is PBN managing editor. You can follow him on Twitter @waham or email him at hamilton@pbn.com.
