Nov. 10--ST. LOUIS -- A week ago, Dan Lee was a big player in this town.

The CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment, Lee was the man behind the half-billion dollar Lumière Place Casino downtown. His company helped bankroll a winning campaign to end gambling loss limits in Missouri. And he was getting ready to open a new casino in south St. Louis County in the spring.

But then he traveled from Las Vegas to Clayton to throw his weight against a competing casino proposal.

It didn't go well. There was a scene. And now, Lee is a big player no more.

The veteran casino industry executive resigned his job atop Pinnacle on Monday, two days after Missouri gambling regulators launched an investigation into his conduct at last week's meeting of the St. Louis County Council. In a statement, the gambling company said Lee was quitting "to pursue other business interests."

A spokesman said Pinnacle would not otherwise comment beyond its statement, which thanked Lee for his seven years of service and for building Pinnacle from a "small casino company to a developer and operator of world-class gaming entertainment properties."

In a statement e-mailed to the Post-Dispatch, Lee said he was proud of his time building Pinnacle. "Nevertheless, I've decided to move ahead to the next chapter of my career, with new challenges and opportunities," he wrote.

Long before his confrontation with a local lawmaker Tuesday, Lee -- a frank, fast-talking former Wall Street analyst -- had a reputation as something of a character.

He regularly made snide comments about competitors, once referring to Creve Coeur-based Isle of Capri Casinos as "the Motel 6 of the industry," and describing the Casino Queen in East St. Louis as "surrounded by razor wire."

His company has grown fast in recent years through expansions in St. Louis and other markets far from the bright lights of Las Vegas, where it is based but doesn't have a casino. Like other gambling outfits, Pinnacle has seen its fortunes fall during the recession -- a $1.5 billion oceanfront resort in Atlantic City is on "indefinite hold" -- but it has made a big splash here.

In 2007, it opened Lumière Place to great fanfare, with Lee presiding over a Las Vegas-style opening night, complete with fireworks. Then it dived straight into construction of a second casino, the $350 million River City, set to open in the spring at the mouth of River Des Peres.

The company also joined Ameristar Casinos in a campaign to overturn Missouri's $500 loss limit last fall. Pinnacle poured $7.7 million into a ballot initiative that would end the limits -- which it said made Missouri casinos less competitive with Vegas and neighboring states -- and cap casino licenses at the current 13. In November, voters approved, and Lumière, in particular, has benefited; in September, its revenue was up 22 percent from the same time last year.

But Pinnacle has stumbled with its third St. Louis property, the aging President Casino downtown. After spending about $45 million to buy the President, Pinnacle has wavered on plans to move, replace or repair the Admiral riverboat, which houses the casino and has a hull inspection next summer that it's widely expected to fail.

Earlier this year, the Missouri Gaming Commission shot down Pinnacle's plans to move or replace the boat, saying that doing so would require reapplying for its license. The company sued the commission, and the matter is now in court.

A new license application would likely face stiff competition from would-be casinos near Kansas City and in north St. Louis County, where a proposal to rezone 377 acres north of the Chain of Rocks Bridge for a casino has been moving through the County Council.

And that brought Lee to Clayton, where the council was set to vote Tuesday on the North County rezoning.

Council member Steve Stenger, who represents the area around River City, said the Vegas CEO visited shortly before the meeting to remind him that Pinnacle's new casino was "the largest investment your district has ever seen," and to urge a no vote on the proposal for North County.

Stenger voted yes, and the rezoning passed 4-2. After the vote, as many in the crowd got up to leave, Lee rushed up to dais and loudly told Stenger's assistant that her boss had "just made the worst mistake of his political career," the councilman recalled.

"I won't forget this," Lee said.

The next day, Lee apologized. But the damage apparently was done. On Friday, the Missouri Gaming Commission launched an investigation into the incident. And Monday morning, Lee put out word that he was stepping down.

Stenger said he was surprised to learn that Lee resigned, and that he hadn't sought it.

"It's a shame that he did what he did, and it gives me no joy that he has resigned," said the Democrat from Affton. "I do want to say that the instance of his behavior and conduct is in no way indicative of the relationship and dealings I've had with Pinnacle Entertainment before that point and up to today. Dan Lee did a lot of good things for my district."

Lee's resignation may not have been solely the result of last week's outburst.

Gene McNary, executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission, said Pinnacle officials had told him that there were other issues under the surface.

"It sounds like a mutual agreement to part ways," McNary said. "I think it's a corporate matter."

But it was abrupt.

Pinnacle said two of its board members will run the company's day-to-day operations, and a search for a new CEO will begin immediately. A St. Louis spokesman said the casinos here will see no impact. The lawsuit over the President's license continues. The slots will still ring at Lumière. And construction is almost finished at River City.

In fact, this morning, there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open an access road for the new casino. Lots of big local players will be there. Steve Stenger is expected to show up.

Dan Lee, however, is not.

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