Hilton President Checks Out After 3 Years : Gaming: Executive cites personal reasons for the surprise move, which comes at a critical time for the company.

After leading a worldwide expansion of Hilton Hotels’ gambling operations, company President Raymond C. Avansino Jr. surprised the gaming industry Tuesday by announcing his resignation less than three years after joining the company.

The departure of Avansino, who cited personal reasons for his resignation, comes at a critical time for the Beverly Hills-based company. Not only is Hilton preparing to spin off its casino gambling operations into a separate company, but it also faces intense competition in Las Vegas and other key gambling markets.

“It’s a significant void at a very senior level,” said gambling and lodging industry analyst Jason Ader at Bear Stearns & Co. “It’s a real competitive gaming market, and it’s going to be critical to see who they chose to fill that role.”

Avansino, 52, a former Nevada tax lawyer and gambling regulator, will remain in the job until a successor is found, and he will remain on the company’s board of directors.

“This has been a painful and agonizing decision, but I will honor my commitment to return to the nonprofit world focusing on educational and Nevada environmental challenges,” Avansino said in a statement. He was not available for further comment.

The tall, silver-haired executive joined Hilton as president in February, 1993, with the mandate to expand and exploit the company’s already large and rapidly growing casino-hotel operations.

With the backing of Chairman Barron Hilton, Avansino reorganized the company into separate hotel and gambling operations and oversaw new ventures, including casino riverboats in New Orleans and casino hotels in Australia.

Earlier this year, Hilton announced that it would spin off its gambling operations into a separate publicly traded company after it failed to find a buyer for the entire company. Avansino, who has no experience in the hotel business, was expected to head the new casino-hotel company.

The Internal Revenue Service is reviewing the proposed spinoff, which is intended to be tax-free.

The break-up plan has disappointed investors, who had been counting on a sale, and Hilton’s stock has languished as a result. On Tuesday, Hilton fell 25 cents on the New York Stock Exchange to close at $66.25. Hilton stock hit almost $80 a share shortly before the company announced the spinoff plan in May.

Ironically, Hilton’s gambling operations have turned in mixed results recently while the hotel’s division has continued a strong recovery from a deep industrywide recession.

In Nevada, where Hilton recently expanded the Flamingo Hilton and added a dramatic set of penthouse suites for high rollers at Las Vegas Hilton, the company faces growing competition from flashy new casino-resorts in Las Vegas and also in Reno.

In New Orleans, the company has put up a new riverboat casino up for sale after a disappointing performance.