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Mohegan Sun to Become First Indian Tribe to Operate in Sin City
By Jeff Osienya Oct 13, 2020 IndustryMohegan Gaming Entertainment received a thumbs up from the NGCB to start operating a casino at the Virgin Hotel Las Vegas. The Mohegan Tribe now awaits consent from the Nevada Gaming Commission as the 25th January opening date for the venue nears.The Mohegan Tribe, one of the federally-recognized Native American tribes in the USA have received approval from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) to operate a casino inside the Virgin Hotel near the Vegas Strip under their Mohegan Gaming Entertainment (MGE) vehicle.
This decision was reached during a two-hour hearing last Wednesday where the three members of the NGCB gave a unanimous recommendation for the MGE. Board members of the Mohegan board answered a range of questions in the hearing which was an online meeting with Silver State regulators, from the tribe's Uncasville tribal headquarters in Connecticut. A dozen executives and tribal officers who included the MGE Chief Executive Officer, Mario Kontomerkos also received licensing approval in the virtual hearing.
The Final Hurdle for Mohegan’s Nevada Casino Still to Come
Now, what’s left for the new tribal operated facility is consent from the five-member Nevada Gaming Commission which will discuss the approval in a meeting scheduled for 22nd October. Should the Silver State regulators give MGE the green light in the follow up meeting, Connecticut’s Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority would have permission to run a casino facility at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas property, which was formerly the Hard Rock Hotel at Paradise Road and Harmon Avenue.
Richard Branson’s Virgin Hotels and Juniper Capital Partners are the current owners of the property and are almost done with a $200 million facelift of the property as they ready themselves for a 15th January 2021 opening date. The venue would have been opened this fall but like a lot of events this year, the date had to be pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The MGE run casino facility will cover 60,000 square feet and it will come complete with 650 slot machine cabinets, and 50 casino game tables. From last Wednesday’s meeting the license approval also included a high-limits gaming salon for exclusive members – a private room that will be identical to those that Mohegan Sun has in its flagship casino operations.
Additionally, the new gaming facility will also have a casino sportsbook that will be operated by UK based Betfred Sports USA, a brand that currently runs books across four other US states, all powered by Scientific Game’s betting platform.
Another First for the Industrious Mohegan Tribe
Should the Nevada Gaming Commission have a positive outcome for the Mohegan tribe, which is highly likely, it will be a landmark moment for the Native American Tribe as their casino will officially be the first tribally operated casino to venture into Sin City’s gaming scene. The Mohegan tribe also made history 15 years ago when it bought the Connecticut Sun WNBA team to become the first tribe to own a professional sports franchise. The Sun team plays its matches at the massive Mohegan Sun Arena which has a 10,000-seat capacity.
Currently, other than the USA, Mohegan has its presence in Canada and South Korea. Overall, the tribe operates nine properties across eight different jurisdictions, hosting over 25 million visitors every year. The tribe is also preparing for entry into Athens, Greece to have its footprint in a total of 4 countries, after edging out its rival, the Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock International in bidding wars for a sole casino license for a $9.4 billion Hellinikon resort project.
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