Former Rivers Casino GM tapped for finance role at Live! Casino Pittsburgh

The former general manager of Rivers Casino has been tapped by operators of the soon-to-be-opening Hempfield casino as director of finance.

Craig Clark, who has more than 26 years of experience in the gaming industry, will oversee the finance departments at the 100,000-square-foot facility that is under construction at the former Bon-Ton department store at Westmoreland Mall. The $150 million casino dubbed Live! Casino Pittsburgh is scheduled to open Nov. 24.

Clark will be responsible for managing finance departments including accounting, analytics, count rooms, the casino cage, finance, income and revenue audit and scheduling.

He joins general manager Sean Sullivan, who previously served as general manager at The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington County. Together, Clark and Sullivan have 20 years of experience in Western Pennsylvania.

Clark began his gaming career at Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y., where he served as director of finance for six years, according to his LinkedIn page. He served another seven years at the facility as senior vice president and general manager.

From there, Clark became the general manager at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif., where he worked for a year and a half.

Clark then moved to Pittsburgh, where he served as general manager for Rivers Casino for six years. In that role, Craig saw the beginning stages of plans for a proposed hotel as well as a partnership with Allegheny County Community College to create a dealer school.

After leaving Rivers, Clark went on to serve as president of Hard Rock Ottawa.

Live! Casino Pittsburgh, owned by The Cordish Companies of Maryland, will bring 750 slot machines and 30 table games to the area. The facility will feature Sports and Social Steel City, a 445-seat restaurant and bar space, including a 45-foot television screen that can be viewed from the sports betting space downstairs.

Guy Fieri, an Emmy-award winning chef, restaurateur, New York Times best-selling author and television personality, will also open American Kitchen + Bar in the facility.