Mohegan Sun: Failing Tribe to offer advice

This is like asking a neighbor who just filed for bankruptcy for financial advice.

Mohegan casino owner announces management venture

By STEPHEN SINGER - AP Business Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The operator of Indian casinos in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, facing financial pressure amid increased competition and slack consumer spending, announced Thursday a new venture to pursue management contracts and consulting agreements for casino and entertainment businesses.

Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, parent company of the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn., and Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Plains Township, Pa., said the venture, Mohegan Gaming Advisors, will allow the business to leverage its experience to other gambling and entertainment opportunities.

Mitchell Grossinger Etess, chief executive of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, said the new venture will be involved in a range of management consulting such as marketing, human resources, expansion advice and spending issues.

"There are a lot of markets out there. We believe there's a market for this," he said.

Revenue generated by the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut has been declining in the past several months, falling to $61 million in May, down 6 percent from May 2010.

Etess said the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority is not making financial projections.

"It's way too speculative," he said. "But this is part of an initiative to help diversify the tribe and provide other revenue sources as our industry matures."

Mohegan Gaming Advisors announced its first deal in May: a partnership to develop a gambling and racing resort in New York's Catskill Mountains. The two partners will develop a $600 million project to rebuild at the site of the Concord Hotel, once one of the most popular destinations in the Borscht Belt.

Moody's Investor Service said in May that consideration of legalized casino gambling in Massachusetts threatens the Mohegan Sun Casino.

"The Connecticut casinos would feel pressure from the north if Massachusetts were to legalize and implement casino gambling," Moody's said. "There is a high degree of uncertainty over when gaming trends will improve from current levels and, if they do, how sustainable and profitable those improvements will be."

In addition, New York, which has casinos run by Indian tribes, has approved slot machines for its Aqueduct racetrack and Pennsylvania has added table games such as poker and blackjack to its nine slot-machine casinos.