Gateway Casinos & Entertainment has announced that Tony Santo, Chief Executive Officer, and Director, passed away unexpectedly on August 17th, 2023.
Tolek Strukoff, Gateway’s President, said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tony Santo. Tony joined Gateway as our President and Chief Executive Officer in October 2013 and became a Director in July 2017. His mission was to establish Gateway as Canada’s premier entertainment and gaming company.”
Strukoff noted that people could often find Tony visiting sites and staff from “dawn to dusk” connecting about their work, families, and lives.
Strukoff concluded: “Tony was an iconic leader in the US and Canada and grew Gateway from a small regional gaming company to one of the largest gaming companies in Canada. However, Tony would say to himself he didn’t do it – we did it together. Tony was an outstanding leader, colleague, and friend, and he will be greatly missed. On behalf of all of Gateway’s employees, I extend our deepest sympathies to the entire Santo family.”
Santo had announced his retirement in December 2019. However, he stayed on the job t help the company due to the coronavirus. Gateway operates 14 properties in Ontario, three in British Columbia, and two in Alberta. The company employs 7,000 people and operates nearly 14,000 slot machines and 350 table games across its portfolio.
Before taking the leadership role in Gateway, Santo held various executive capacities in Las Vegas and supervised various Strip properties including Bally’s Grand, which is now called the Horseshow Las Vegas, Las Vegas Hilton which is now the Westgate, and Paris, Santo also served as the senior vice president of Caesars Entertainment’s mid-south regional properties.