Southern California’s Morongo Band of Mission Indians has named longtime tribal gaming executive Richard St. Jean as the new chief operating officer overseeing the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa near Palm Springs.
The appointment brings St. Jean back into the tribal gaming fold. He has moved between the commercial and tribal gaming industries for 25 years. In a statement, Morongo Tribal Chairman Robert Martin said St. Jean is a respected gaming and hospitality leader and an accomplished executive.
“Richard comes to Morongo at an exciting time and brings with him a successful track record of operational excellence and proven leadership,” Martin said. “We are confident that his vision, deep industry expertise, and innovative spirit will fuel the next chapter of prosperity at Morongo while advancing our ongoing commitment to consistently exceeding the expectations of our guests.”
St. Jean replaces John James, who became president at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
St. Jean held management positions at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City and Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. He then spent 17 years at Las Vegas-based Station Casinos, where he served as general manager for multiple gaming properties.
Station Casinos promoted St. Jean to president of Native American Gaming, where he oversaw the programming and design of Stations’ four tribal gaming projects, including the operations and $720 million expansion of Thunder Valley Casino in Northern California, and the $200 million launch of the Gun Lake Casino in Michigan.
St. Jean transitioned to Penn National Gaming in 2011 where he opened two casino properties in Ohio and the Jamul Casino in San Diego County.
“Morongo has a proud legacy of protecting tribal sovereignty and creating new opportunity for Indian Country, and I am honored to be a part of that history,” St. Jean said.
Morongo is celebrating its 15th anniversary next month and the property’s 27-story hotel tower is undergoing a renovation and expansion project. Among the changes include a 65,000-square-foot resort expansion opening in mid-2020. Morongo recently opened three new restaurants, Pink Coffee patisserie and coffee house, Good Times Cafe gastropub, and Mozen Asian Kitchen.
