The business arm of Connecticut’s Mohegan Indian Tribe said its chief executive would step down from the company on March 31, six days after the opening of the Mohegan Sun Casino at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
In a statement late Wednesday, casino operator Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment said CEO Mario Kontomerkos will leave his position at the end of the month. No reason for the departure was offered.
Mohegan Tribal Chairman James Gessner, Jr., credited Kontomerkos for the enterprise’s growth, including “navigating the company successfully through the ongoing global pandemic as well as a major refinancing earlier this year.”
Mohegan Gaming Chief Operating Officer Ray Pineault will act as interim CEO while the tribe conducts a search for a permanent CEO.
Kontomerkos joined Mohegan Gaming in 2011 as chief financial officer. In 2017, he was elevated to CEO to focus on corporate diversification.
Mohegan Gaming owns its flagship Mohegan Sun Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut, and the Mohegan Sun Poconos in Pennsylvania. The company manages the gaming operations for Resorts Atlantic City; Indian casinos in Washington and Louisiana on behalf of other tribes; and the Fallsview Casino Resort on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.
Mohegan is developing a planned $5 billion resort at Incheon International Airport in South Korea and has bid on a potential integrated resort license for the former Hellenikon International Airport near Athens, Greece.
At a hearing with the Nevada Gaming Commission last fall, Kontomerkos noted Mohegan’s planned project in South Korea could boost visitation to Las Vegas, adding that Korean visitors are a large customer demographic at the company’s casino in Canada.
“During his tenure with the organization, first as chief financial officer and more recently as CEO, Mario played a critical role in the growth and success of the organization,” Gessner said.
In 2019, Mohegan Gaming announced a multi-year management deal with JC Hospitality, which acquired the off-Strip Hard Rock Las Vegas and closed the property in February 2020.
Mohegan Gaming, which will oversee the 60,000 square foot casino space, was licensed last year by Nevada, becoming the first tribal gaming company to manage a resort in the nation’s largest commercial gambling market. Virgin Hotels will operate the property’s 1,110 guest rooms, which will be part of the Hilton Hotel’s Curio Collection.
Longtime Nevada gaming executive Joe Hasson was named the Mohegan Sun Las Vegas general manager last year.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas will open next Thursday following delays due to COVID-19. The off-Strip property originally was scheduled to open in the fall, but the date was pushed to January due to the pandemic.
A surge in COVID-19 cases in southern Nevada caused a second delay. However, JC Hospitality the March 25 opening on Feb. 11, the same day Gov. Steve Sisolak announced a gradual loosening of capacity restrictions. On Monday, casino capacity was lifted to 50%.
Mohegan Gaming also operates an online gaming site in New Jersey, has owned the Connecticut Sun of WNBA since 2003, and was the first tribal gaming enterprise to access financing from Wall Street.
Mohegan Gaming also announced Wednesday that former Scientific Games executive Carol Anderson will join the company as chief financial officer.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
