Call it transition cash.

But how much do you get for saying "goodbye"?

Dubuque Racing Association leaders are keeping tight-lipped on details of any severance package -- or "golden parachute" -- Bruce Wentworth might claim in leaving the leadership post he's held for nearly 20 years.

The details are important to note because the DRA's annual distributions to the city and charities are paid out after expenses. So, the bigger the payout, the less money available in the distribution pool.

Wentworth, general manager of Dubuque Greyhound Park & Casino, on Tuesday in a joint press release with the DRA said he will resign in 60 days.

DRA board President John Schmidt declined to comment on any payout plan. City Manager Mike Van Milligen, a member of the board, also wasn't talking about it.

Wentworth followed suit.

"It is a confidential and private and personal matter that I wouldn't comment on," he said.

An expert in casino industry compensation said he wouldn't be surprised to find Wentworth walking out the door with a decent severance package, although perhaps not as golden as some

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of the golden parachutes found in the gambling industry.

"My guess is this guy has a retirement package, and it's not untypical for severance to run about one-year cash contribution," said Keith Kefgen, president of HVS Executive Search, a New York-based consultancy and executive recruiting firm for the hospitality and casino trades.

"A lot of times, these people get a consultant role and they are able to earn more cash that way," Kefgen said.

Under what the racing association bills as "transition planning," Wentworth will "make himself available to the DRA on a consulting basis for an additional year."

A TH search of DRA tax records filed with the IRS provides an idea of the level of pay top executives are earning at the casino. The Racing Association's Form 990s are available online through Guidestar.org, which tracks nonprofits.

In its 2006 fiscal year, the most recent year available, the DRA listed $601,870 in base compensation for its three top executives, Wentworth and his assistant managers -- Brian Southwood and Roger Hoeger. The site also lists another $72,484 in employee benefit plans.

The average annual salary for casino chief executives

approached $490,000, according to an HVS Executive Search 2005 casino industry report. The maximum salary topped $2.16 million, and average bonuses for the CEO position, and the median bonus was $227,000.