Mohegan reports casino’s net revenues, profit dip for quarter

— Mohegan Sun’s net revenues in the quarter that ended Dec. 31 were $239.4 million, down 4.8% over the same period a year ago, the casino’s corporate parent, Mohegan, reported late last week in a conference call with investors.

Net income, or profit, totaled $51.3 million, a 16.3% decrease, a quarterly report shows.

Mohegan executives called attention to the company’s overall “continued strong operations” in the quarter, which generated overall net revenues of $406.7 million, a 1.2% increase, and profit of $800,000. In addition to Mohegan Sun, the company owns and/or manages casinos in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Atlantic City, Las Vegas and Washington state as well as in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.

The company also highlighted the growth of its digital division, noting its net online casino gaming win in the quarter — the first quarter of its 2023 fiscal year — reached $34.6 million, a year-overyear increase of about 72%. Online casino gaming began in Connecticut in October 2021.

Early in the presentation, Ray Pineault, Mohegan’s president and chief executive officer, said he was unable to discuss the company’s partnership with the Soloviev Group, the New York developer that has proposed an entertainment district on Manhattan’s East Side. As part of the plan, Mohegan would operate a casino and resort there, Soloviev announced Jan. 31.

Pineault said a “confidentiality commitment” prevented him from answering questions about the project, dubbed Freedom Plaza, which also would include a luxury hotel with more than 1,000 rooms, a performance venue, a museum, two residential towers, a Ferris wheel and green space.

“I want everyone to know we are taking a fiscally responsible approach to the project in alignment with our capital structure,” Pineault said.

Pineault said construction work at Mohegan’s Inspire casino resort in Incheon, South Korea, is running ahead of schedule and was more than 45% complete at the end of January. The non-gaming portion of the project is scheduled to debut in the fourth quarter of calendar 2023, with the gaming portion — a foreigners-only casino — expected to open shortly thereafter.

After a comprehensive review of the project, Mohegan anticipates making additional equity investments, including in more hotel rooms and convention, meeting room and food-and-beverage capacity, Pineault said.

Inspire will include three hotel towers with a total of 1,200 rooms, a 15,000-seat arena and an indoor water park. It will be comparable in size and scale to Mohegan Sun, according to Mohegan.