Isle of Capri Casinos names Chief Operating Officer

"Arnie brings nearly 20 years of regional gaming experience to his new role. Throughout his career, he has consistently demonstrated his commitment to his customers, his employees, and the communities in which he operated," said Virginia McDowell, president and CEO. "His entrepreneurial spirit and focus on operational excellence are evidenced in his record in the gaming industry, as well as his background as a former restaurant owner/operator and tourism executive. Under his leadership, our casinos have and will continue to offer an experience that is consistently clean, safe, friendly and fun."

Block joined Isle of Capri Casinos as senior vice president of the Isle brand in 2008 from Harrah's Entertainment, now known as Caesar's Entertainment, where he served as general manager of Harrah's St. Louis operation. Prior to joining Harrah's, Block worked in a variety of leadership capacities for Argosy Gaming Company beginning in 1993.

In 1995 he was named vice president and general manager of Argosy's Lawrenceburg, Indiana facility, which for a number of years was the most profitable riverboat casino in the nation. In 2002, Block was promoted to corporate regional vice president of operations at Argosy with full responsibility for Lawrenceburg, Argosy Casino Baton Rouge and Argosy Casino Kansas City. Prior to joining the gaming industry, Block owned and operated several restaurants and hotels in the St. Louis market.

"Over the past few years, Isle of Capri has strengthened its financial balance sheet, improved liquidity, improved margins and built a solid growth pipeline. We continue to see improvements in our operations and I am sure that Arnie and his team will continue to achieve success across the enterprise," McDowell said.