Mohegan - Mohegan Sun officials and staff Monday mourned the loss of a popular executive killed in a weekend traffic accident in Florida, casino officials said.

Rocco Santoro, the casino's vice president of table games, died Sunday in Broward County, according to Jeffrey Hartmann, Mohegan Sun's executive vice president and chief operating officer. No details were readily available.

"He was a good friend of mine, and a great employee," Hartmann said. "He had a great way with people; he treated everybody with respect and dignity. He will be missed."

Santoro joined Mohegan Sun in 2005. Part of his charge was to oversee last year's re-introduction of poker, which the casino had abandoned in 2003.

Santoro's death was the second in a month involving a popular Mohegan Sun employee. Randy Smith, a former NBA All-Star who had worked in marketing at the casino, died June 4 while working out on a treadmill there. He reportedly suffered a heart attack.

"We've had a bad few weeks," Hartmann said. "They were both great employees. They exemplified what we are trying to create at Mohegan Sun."

He said word of Santoro's death had been disseminated among casino employees, and that people throughout the industry who knew Santoro had been calling to offer condolences.

Santoro, who lived in Mystic, is survived by a wife and two daughters, according to Hartmann.