Marshall S. Geller was named interim president...

Marshall S. Geller was named interim president and chief operating officer of Players International Inc., succeeding Stan Harfenist.

Geller is managing director of Golenberg & Geller, a merchant banking firm in Los Angeles. He’s also been a director of Calabasas-based Players for the past five years.

Geller’s main job will be oversee the shift in Players’ focus from its traditional business of providing discounts at casinos and toward the operation of its own riverboat casino on the Ohio River in southern Illinois, the company said. The casino is scheduled to start operating early next year.

Players said Harfenist would assist Geller in the possible development of new riverboat gaming opportunities.