PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 15, 2024--
Rush Street Gaming announced today that international gaming executive Susan Foster has been appointed general manager of Rivers Casino Philadelphia.
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“Having worked in various gaming jurisdictions in America and several other countries, I’m both an advocate for and an example of the tremendous opportunities casino gaming provides,” said Foster. “I’m very excited to be back in Pennsylvania at such a dynamic property.”
Foster began her casino career as a table games dealer in the U.K., Nigeria and the Bahamas. She later spent 14 years in Mississippi at Grand Casino & Resort and Bally’s Entertainment, where she led table games and poker operations. She then served as director of table games for Odawa Casino in Michigan, before accepting her first Pennsylvania job with Harrah’s Philadelphia.
While at Harrah’s, Foster received Caesars Entertainment’s highest award for excellence in leadership. Thereafter, Foster transitioned from the gaming floor to casino operations in 2015 with Hollywood Casino, where she served as vice president of operations at multiple Penn Entertainment properties for nearly a decade. Her direct responsibilities included the performance and operations of slots, table games, poker, food and beverage, environmental services, security, facilities and various hotels.
Foster joined Rivers Casino Philadelphia in April 2024 as assistant general manager. She succeeds Eric Althaus, who recently departed the Philly property.
“Susan’s broad worldview of gaming operations has significantly benefited Rush Street since she joined last spring,” said Tim Drehkoff, CEO of Rush Street Gaming. “Her history and familiarity with the southeastern PA gaming market has proven to be a great advantage for Rivers Philly.”
ABOUT RUSH STREET GAMING
Rush Street Gaming and its affiliates have developed and operate Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Des Plaines, Illinois (Chicago area); Schenectady, New York; and Portsmouth, Virginia. By placing an emphasis on superior design and outstanding customer service, Rush Street Gaming has become one of the leading casino developers in the United States. Rush Street’s casinos employ approximately 6,000 Team Members and generate more than $1.5 billion in annual gaming revenue. All Rush Street Gaming casinos have been voted a “Best Place to Work” or “Top Workplace” by their Team Members. For more information, visit RushStreetGaming.com.
Susan Foster has been named general manager of Rivers Casino Philadelphia. (Photo: Business Wire)
LONDON (AP) — A superyacht that sank Monday off the Sicilian coast during a storm left at least five people dead and six passengers missing, including British tech kingpin Mike Lynch and some of his inner circle, who were gathered to celebrate his victory in a long-running legal trial.
Lynch was acquitted in June in a U.S. fraud case and was apparently aboard the Bayesian with some of the people who stood by him throughout the ordeal. Another member of Lynch's legal team who wasn't aboard, Reid Weingarten, said the outing was intended in part as a celebration of the acquittal.
Here's a look at the people who are dead or missing, as well as details on the recent death of an associate of Lynch who was not on the yacht.
Software entrepreneur Mike Lynch, along with his daughter, Hannah, are among those that police divers are searching for after the yacht was struck by a waterspout off of Porticello, near Palermo.
A spokesperson for Lynch said there were no updates Tuesday.
Lynch had been trying to move past a Silicon Valley debacle that had tarnished his legacy as an icon of British ingenuity.
A Cambridge-educated mathematician, Lynch made his mark with Autonomy, which made a search engine that could pore through emails and other internal business documents to help companies find vital information more quickly. Autonomy’s steady growth in its first decade resulted in Lynch being dubbed Britain’s Bill Gates and earning him one of the U.K’s highest honors, the Office of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2006.
Lynch, 59, sold Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion in 2011. But the deal quickly turned sour after he was accused of cooking the books to make the sale.
The fraud allegations resulting in Lynch being fired by HP’s then-CEO Meg Whitman and a decade-long legal battle. It culminated with him being extradited from the U.K. to face criminal charges of masterminding a multibillion-dollar fraud.
Lynch steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, asserting that he was being made a scapegoat for HP’s own bungling — a position he maintained while testifying before a jury during a 2 1/2 month trial in San Francisco earlier this year. U.S. Justice Department prosecutors called more than 30 witnesses in an attempt to prove their allegations against Lynch.
Lynch was vindicated at trial in June after being cleared of all charges. Lynch pledged to return to the U.K. and explore new ways to innovate.
Although he avoided a possible prison sentence, Lynch still faced a potentially huge bill stemming from a civil cased in London that HP mostly won in 2022. Damages haven’t been determined in that case, but HP is seeking $4 billion. Lynch made more than $800 million from the Autonomy sale.
Lynch later went on to set up technology investment firm Invoke Capital.
One of Lynch’s U.S. lawyers, Christopher Morvillo of the firm Clifford Chance, and his wife Neda were also on the yacht and are among those unaccounted for.
Morvillo is regarded as an elite defense attorney specializing in fraud and corruption cases. He was previously a federal prosecutor in New York who worked on the criminal investigation of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. His father, Robert Morvillo, was also a lawyer who represented high-profile clients, including Martha Stewart.
In a LinkedIn post soon after Lynch's acquittal, Morvillo paid tribute to the team of lawyers who worked on the case and also his wife and two daughters.
“None of this would have been possible without your love and support. I am so glad to be home,” he wrote. The post ended with the words: “And they all lived happily ever after….”
In a legal podcast released last week, Morvillo recounted his involvement with Lynch's case, starting from when his firm was hired in November 2012.
He flew to London to meet Lynch on Thanksgiving weekend that year and assumed he would be gone for a week, Morvillo told the For the Defense podcast. Instead, Morvillo said he “spent a significant portion of the rest of my life bouncing back and forth between London and New York.”
The case has “covered one third of my career,” he said. “It has been a constant presence in my life for the last 12 years.”
Clifford Chance said it was “in shock and deeply saddened by this tragic incident” and that its thoughts are with Morvillo and his wife. “Our utmost priority is providing support to the family,” the firm said.
The chairman of Morgan Stanley's London-based investment banking subsidiary, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife, Judy, were also among the yacht's missing.
Bloomer is non-executive chairman of both Morgan Stanley International, which covers markets outside the U.S., and the Hiscox Group, an insurer that does business on the Lloyd’s of London insurance marketplace.
Lynch appointed Bloomer to Autonomy’s board of directors in 2010, where he served as chairman of the audit committee at the time of the HP deal. Bloomer testified for the defense at Lynch’s trial.
Both Morgan Stanley and Hiscox said they were “deeply shocked and saddened" by the tragedy.
“Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular the Bloomer family, as we all wait for further news from this terrible situation," the bank said.
Aki Hussain, the group chief executive of Hiscox, said "our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular our chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who are among the missing, and with their family as they await further news from this terrible situation.”
In a strange coincidence, another former Autonomy executive who was acquitted alongside Lynch of the fraud charges died days before the sinking of the Bayesian.
Stephen Chamberlain “was fatally struck by a car on Saturday while out running,” his lawyer Gary Lincenberg said in a statement.
Chamberlain, formerly a vice-president of finance at the company, was accused of artificially inflating Autonomy’s revenues and making false and misleading statements to auditors, analysts and regulators.
He stood trial with Lynch, and was also found not guilty.
“He was a courageous man with unparalleled integrity. We deeply miss him," Lincenberg said. “Steve fought successfully to clear his good name at trial earlier this year, and his good name now lives on through his wonderful family.”
Chamberlain “was a much-loved husband, father, son, brother and friend," his family said in statement released through Cambridgeshire Police. “He was an amazing individual whose only goal in life was to help others in any way possible."
Police said the driver, a 49-year-old woman, remained at the scene in the village of Stretham, England, and was assisting with the investigation.
The chef with Antiguan roots was the first confirmed death from the accident. Cooking for Lynch was supposed to be one of his last jobs before retiring, his cousin, David Isaac, told The Associated Press.
Thomas was born in Canada but he would visit his parents’ homeland of Antigua as a child, moving permanently to the tiny eastern Caribbean island in his early 20s.
“He was a free spirit,” Isaac recalled. “Nothing rattled him. I’ve never seen him upset.”
Upon moving to Antigua, Thomas, best known as “Rick,” started working as a bartender in Jolly Harbor so he could be close to the sea, his second love after cooking, Isaac said.
Thomas also picked up jobs on small boats and eventually went to culinary school and started working on bigger ships.
Isaac recalled how Thomas would be gone for several months at a time and then unexpectedly show up in Antigua between jobs.
“This particular incident was hard,” Isaac said. “He was just ready to tie up the end of his journey in his career."
Isaac recalled Thomas’ “big, infectious” laugh and said he found some solace in that “Rick did exactly what he was meant to do and what he loved doing.”
AP writers Eric Tucker in Washington and Anika Kentish in St. John's, Antigua, contributed to this report.
This version has corrected a date to 2001 sted 2002.
Emergency services at the scene of the search for a missing boat, in Porticello Santa Flavia, Italy, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. British tech giant Mike Lynch, his lawyer and four other people are among those missing after their luxury superyacht sank during a freak storm off Sicily, Italy’s civil protection and authorities said. Lynch’s wife and 14 other people survived. (Alberto Lo Bianco /LaPresse via AP)
FILE - British tech magnate Mike Lynch walks into federal court in San Francisco, March 26, 2024, (AP Photo/Michael Liedtke, File)
Tech tycoon, defense attorney, and Morgan Stanley banker among those missing in freak yacht sinking
Tech tycoon, defense attorney, and Morgan Stanley banker among those missing in freak yacht sinking
