Mohegan Sun CEO lobbies for resort casino
12:31 PM Wed, Mar 18, 2009 | Permalink
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The top executive for the Mohegan Sun casino said Wednesday he's looking ahead to a turnaround in the national economy and a realignment of political perceptions in the Bay State, both of which are needed for him to push ahead with plans for a resort casino in western Massachusetts. "Right now it's still viable," said Mitchell Etess, chief executive officer of the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn. Etess spoke to The Journal after addressing a gathering of the Small Business Association of New England in Waltham, Mass., where he talked about the casino industry and the Mohegan tribe's hopes for a resort in Palmer, Mass. The meeting came amid renewed debate over whether increased gambling revenue can help resolve an economic crisis that has left Massachusetts with a $1.1 billion budget deficit in the 2008 fiscal year and $3.5 billion in anticipated cuts to start its 2009 fiscal year in July. In 2007, prompted by the Mashpee Wampanoags' plans for a tribal-run casino in Southeastern Massachusetts, Governor Patrick proposed licensing three casinos, indicating only that he would give preference to a Massachusetts Indian tribe for one gambling license. Plans for commercial casinos surfaced rapidly in New Bedford, Boston, Marlborough and elsewhere in the Bay State. The Mohegan tribe joined a group looking to build a casino on a 152-acre site in Palmer, which lies along the Massachusetts Turnpike near Springfield. "We've kind of staked out Western Massachusetts," he said. "It's what we think works best for us." For more news about gambling revenue in New England, read here and here. 
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