Oct. 22—Mohegan executives sang the Uncasville-based gaming and entertainment company's praises Tuesday during an "Investors Day" presentation that touched on Mohegan's international successes as well as its plan to focus on Mohegan Sun and its other domestic properties in the near term.
"We're building a global company," Ari Glazer, Mohegan's chief financial officer, told an audience in a Mohegan Sun ballroom and on Zoom.
Mohegan expanded outside the United States in 2019 when it assumed management of two government-owned casinos in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Earlier this year, it opened Inspire, the nearly $1.7 billion integrated resort it developed in Incheon, South Korea.
Currently, its only prospective undertaking is a New York City casino it hopes to build and operate as part of the Soloviev Group's Freedom Plaza, a multi-billion-dollar development proposed for a site between 38th and 41st streets on Manhattan's East Side.
Asked if Mohegan would turn its attention to domestic acquisitions, Glazer said the company's short-term goal is to concentrate on efficiency and "driving the profitability of our existing assets."
"We don't have any plans, except for New York, for expanding our portfolio," he said.
Ray Pineault, Mohegan's president and chief executive officer, said that after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul failed to sign a bill that would have expedited the process, it now appears New York will require those bidding on three downstate casino licenses to submit applications by next June, with licenses to be awarded by Dec. 31, 2025.
"The impact from a new facility (in New York) is a long way off," Pineault said. "Even if it's awarded to someone else, we will have time to prepare."
Pineault, responding to a question about the potential expansion of the Ontario casinos, said the government there would first have to invest in the Niagara Falls-area transportation system "to make it more of a destination."
In discussing Mohegan's current assets, Pineault cited the growth of Mohegan Digital, the division that operates online gaming in Connecticut, Ontario and Pennsylvania, where Mohegan owns a racetrack casino. He said Mohegan Sun, the company's 28-year-old flagship "that looks like it opened last week," has recently achieved record-breaking revenues in its food-and-beverage and hotel departments.
Pineault also noted Mohegan has entered into a multiyear partnership with Gaming Analytics that will enable it to better track patrons' preferences and personalize marketing efforts through the use of artificial intelligence. Initially, the collaboration will include Mohegan Sun and Mohegan Pennsylvania, pending regulatory approvals, and eventually will be introduced at other locations.