Scott Butera stepping down as CEO of Foxwoods

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. — The chief executive officer of the Foxwoods Resort Casino is stepping down at the end of the next month.

The tribe that owns the casino in southeastern Connecticut said Wednesday that Scott Butera is leaving for a position outside the gambling industry.

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Chairman Rodney Butler said that Butera helped to stabilize the casino’s finances through a debt restructuring and rebuilt the management team. The tribe said Butera will remain involved in negotiations with all of Foxwoods’ lenders as a senior adviser to the casino.

The tribe defaulted on a debt of $2.3 billion in 2009 and last year it completed a restructuring process that reduced its debt to $1.7 billion.

Butera had been chief executive at the country’s largest resort-style casino since late 2010. He took the job in November of that year, a day after stepping down as CEO and board member of Tropicana Entertainment.