Couch resigns as Wild Rose GM

By DOUGLAS BURNS
d.burns@carrollspaper.com

Mike Couch, Wild Rose Jefferson general manager since November 2014, well before the casino complex opened, resigned effective Monday, a Wild Rose official confirmed Tuesday to The Jefferson Herald.

No other employees left in connection with Couch’s departure.

Jamie Buelt, a spokeswoman for Wild Rose, said she could not release any other details on the resignation.

“We wish him only the best of fortunes,” Buelt said.

Couch’s final day with the casino was Monday.

In the near term, Tom Timmons, president and chief operating officer of West Des Moines-based Wild Rose Casino & Resort, will serve as acting general manager in Jefferson.

Timmons is familiar with not only the casino in Jefferson, but the full community as well, as he was a consistent presence in Greene County during the casino licensing and election process.

“Tom will be in Jefferson almost daily,” Buelt said.

A search for a permanent successor to Couch will start soon.

Buelt said the casino is on solid financial footing and drawing strong crowds.

“All I can say, and all Tom can say, is that he (Couch) resigned,” Buelt said.

Couch, prior to serving as the general manager of Wild Rose Jefferson, was the director of gaming for Gulfstream Park, a nationally regarded casino and horse-racing facility located between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Born and raised in Pennsylvania — near Penn State University — Couch worked for Wild Rose’s management team in Emmetsburg in 2006 and also lists experience in his wife’s hometown, Peoria, Ill., where he worked for Boyd Gaming.

Wild Rose operates casinos in Jefferson, Emmetsburg and Clinton.

The newspaper does not have a personal phone number for Couch.