EAST ST. LOUIS - The Casino Queen’s Board of Directors today announced a change at the helm of the organization, with long-time employee and current General Manager Terry Hanger, of Belleville, Ill., promoted to president of CQ Holding Company and its affiliated properties, Casino Queen, Inc. in East St. Louis and Casino Queen Marquette in Iowa. Effective Jan. 21, 2019, Hanger has taken the reins from Jeff Watson, who had served as president since 2012 and recently resigned to serve as associate judge on Illinois’ 20th Judicial Circuit.
In his new position, Hanger will oversee all departments and more than 600 staff members at the 100 percent employee-owned casino, which is located on the East St. Louis riverfront directly across from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Hanger will be responsible for all daily operations, as well as for overseeing governmental, regulatory and organized labor relations. He will also serve on the board of directors for the Casino Queen and be the gaming facility’s key contact for the Illinois and Iowa gaming boards. Hanger will work closely with Mitch Johnson, who remains in his current capacity on the leadership team as assistant general manager and director of casino operations.
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Hanger has been an employee of Casino Queen for 18 years, beginning as the director of information technology in 2000. In 2009, he was promoted to assistant general manager and became general manager in 2017. In recent years, he has worked closely with Watson through many changes in the gaming industry and at the Casino Queen itself. He was part of the team that led shareholders of Casino Queen, Inc., through the sale of their interest in the company to a newly formed Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) for approximately $170 million. An ESOP is a qualified retirement plan under federal law that allows employees to become official owners of their company, and the transition resulted in Casino Queen becoming the first employee-owned and locally owned casino in the country.
The Casino Queen’s Board of Directors shared a joint statement regarding the transition, noting “Jeff has been an excellent asset to this company and we are thankful for the strong leadership and influential changes he has brought to Casino Queen during his time with our organization. We are equally thankful to be positioned for a smooth leadership transition as Terry steps into the president’s role. We couldn’t have chosen a better successor than Terry given his in-depth knowledge of our organization and the gaming industry and his understanding of the significant positive impact our operation has on the City of East St. Louis and the importance of continuing our role as a great corporate citizen.”
Hanger’s career prior to joining Casino Queen included information technology and leadership positions with Walgreens Company in Chicago, Ill., and with Emerson and BJC Healthcare in St. Louis. He earned a Master of Information Management from Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., in 1991 and a Bachelor of Science – Marketing from Millikin University, Decatur, Ill., in 1980.
