Arkansas casino’s leadership shake-up lands Seneca exec top job

The Quapaw Nation’s Downstream Development Authority says the pair ran a separate gaming company on the side.

The hit

Saracen Casino Resort has installed Rod Centers as CEO, effective Monday (Sept. 28), days after firing General Manager Matt Harkness & Chief Market Officer Carlton Saffa. Centers arrives from Seneca Gaming Corporation. Saffa told Casino.org his dismissal came as a “total shock”.

Why it matters

The back-to-back exits & swift hire point to more than a routine reshuffle at Saracen. The tribe alleges its own executives ran a separate gaming firm on the side, a conflict of interest claim that lands weeks after a change in tribal leadership.

The record

Terminations approved	Thursday (Sept. 24), unanimous resolution
Alleged conflict	Harkness & Saffa founded gaming firm GamePhysics, marketed to third parties within the Arkansas gaming industry
New CEO effective	Monday (Sept. 28)
Tribal leadership change	Jesse McKibben elected chairman, Linda Valliere secretary-treasurer, sworn in Aug. 15
Saffa tenure	Joined Saracen project in 2019, after Nov 2018 casino vote

What happens next

Watch whether the Quapaw Nation Business Committee, which ratified the firings, faces further fallout or legal pushback from Harkness or Saffa over the GamePhysics allegations.

Sources: Saracen Casino Resort Names Rod Centers CEO

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