The Mohegan Tribe has announced that it will step down as operator of Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino Hotel at the close of 2024. Ending a 12-year run, the tribe originally agreed to run the country’s first casino outside of Las Vegas in 2012 after Dennis Gomes, the casino’s co-owner, passed away. His death left an experience and knowledge vacuum and Resorts asked the Mohegan Tribe to step in.
“We’re extremely proud of our relationship with Resorts Casino Hotel and what we have helped accomplish,” said Ray Pineault, President & CEO of Mohegan, in a joint press release. “We want to express our deepest gratitude to our Resorts team members, guests and the Atlantic City community for their support and dedication throughout our tenure as manager.”
As part of the 2012 agreement, Mohegan acquired a 10% ownership stake in Resorts; it will keep that ownership position after it turns the reins over.
“Mohegan has been a valuable partner, and we are grateful for their contribution to our success,” said Morris Bailey, owner of Resorts Casino Hotel. “We entered into a management agreement with Mohegan at a time when Resorts faced many operational, economic and market challenges. Mohegan brought stability and direction to Resorts by helping to assemble a stellar management team which will remain in place. We are happy that, with Mohegan’s help, Resorts has reached a point where it is able to operate independently.”
The Mohegan Tribe is best known in the gambling world for its Mohegan Sun casino resort in Connecticut. It also operates the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara in Niagara Falls, Ontario and Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. It is the first Native American tribe to operate a casino in Las Vegas.
In the realm of sports, the Tribe owns the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and part-owns the National Lacross League’s New England Black Wolves franchise.
Resorts Atlantic City is not a player in the poker world. There are three poker rooms in Atlantic City: Borgata, Harrah’s, and Tropicana. Borgata is by the dominant venue, with 2.5-times as many tables as the other two poker rooms combined. The Trump Taj Mahal used to be the east coast’s poker hub – it was featured in the movie Rounders – but faded as the Connecticut poker rooms drew players away and then the Borgata rose to prominence. The Taj closed in 2016 and reopened in 2018 as Hard Rock Atlantic City, but no longer as a poker room.