Sturges resigns as CEO of Nevada Gold & Casinos

LAS VEGAS -- Nevada Gold & Casinos Inc. announced Friday that CEO Robert Sturges has resigned to pursue other business interests.

Ernest East, formerly senior vice president and general counsel, will serve as interim president, a company executive said. Last month, Nevada Gold appointed Branko Milosevic as general counsel.

East has more than 25 years of experience in the gaming industry with companies including Hyatt Gaming Services and Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, William Sherlock, chairman of the board of directors, said in a statement.

"It will be business as usual until a permanent CEO is named," Sherlock said. "We have retained an executive search firm to assist us in the process of identifying the best possible candidates."

Sturges also resigned from the company's board of directors.

"I am pleased that the management team, working with the board, successfully restructured the company's operations and financial condition over the past six years," Sturges said. "I am confident the company will continue to grow and be successful."

Based in Houston, Nevada Gold obtained its gaming license in Nevada in January when regulators approved its acquisition of a 1 percent stake in The Nugget in Reno.

The company's subsidiary, Nevada Gold Speedway LLC, also was licensed earlier this year. Nevada Gold operates a satellite office in Las Vegas.

The company, which is scheduled to release first quarter earnings Wednesday, posted a net loss of $7.9 million, or 45 cents a share, for fiscal year 2012, compared with a loss of $487,026, or 3 cents a share, for fiscal 2011.

Nevada Gold operates 10 casinos in the state of Washington and a 900-machine slot route in Deadwood, S.D., along with an interest in Buena Vista Development Co. LLC, which is working on a Native American casino in Ione, Calif.