Mitchell Etess, CEO of the Indian Tribe casino company, which operates casinos in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, says it's the perfect time for a strategic partnership with Resorts and get back into the Atlantic City market.
ATLANTIC CITY — Two weeks after Jimmy Buffett came to Atlantic City announcing a partnership with Resorts to create a Margaritaville venue on the Boardwalk side of the city’s oldest casino (watch video here), the Mohegan Sun Advisors group, an arm of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Association, came to town on Tuesday, Aug. 7, announcing that the group is seeking approval to enter into a "strategic partnership" and "management contract and investment agreement" with Resorts.
Pending approval, the new operators should take over operations at the casino in the fall.
Some insiders think it is the early stages of a complete takeover by the Native American gaming company, which owns and operates the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut and the Mohegan Sun Casino at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, although the casino is not for sale, according to co-owner Morris Bailey.
Since Resorts’ co-owner and CEO Dennis Gomes, who ran the Resorts operation with his family and a tight-knit executive staff since taking it over in 2010 with business partner Bailey, passed away in February, many have been wondering what lies ahead for the iconic Atlantic City casino.
For one thing, former Trump Plaza executive and current MTGA CEO Mitchell Etess is coming back to town.
At the press conference in Atlantic City, Etess said that MGA will do most of its work in relation to Resorts from a managerial standpoint and hopes to keep Dennis Gomes’ son Aaron Gomes on the new team.
“The timing is right,” says Etess. “We have long looked at the Atlantic City market as an excellent opportunity and with a solid commitment by state and local agencies to revitalize the area [now] is the perfect time to align our brands.”
ABOVE: Resorts unveiled its 1920s theme in 2010. Two years later and Jimmy Buffett and Mohegan Sun are slated to change the casino's direction.
The MSA will become the first Native American tribe to operate an Atlantic City casino — ironic, since the city is located on Absecon Island, a name derived from what the barrier island’s first settlers, the Lenni-Lenape tribe, called it.
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“I think Jimmy and Morris were brilliant in their forethought because, clearly, the first thing that comes to mind when you visit the Jersey shore is the beach and ocean."
Partially owned and run by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority since August 2012, Resorts, on Jan. 10, opened two new players’ club lounges — the Epic Lounge and Paramount Lounge — that combine the elegant feel of a club Boardwalk Empire’s Nucky Thompson would appreciate but with the modern touches — like flat-screen TVs — that current casino patrons will enjoy.
"While it is 75 percent Christmas songs, it has an Elvis Presley tribute and it has some Bobby Darin stuff in it and a tribute to Dean Martin. I also do a tribute for the survivors of Hurricane Sandy and a tribute to our veterans."
Newly named president and CEO of Resorts Atlantic City, Gary Van Hettinga, makes it clear that Atlantic City's oldest casino is an "asset that has a lot of potential."
The Who's Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend spoke via a live media conference from London on Wednesday, announcing plans for new tour, to stop in Atlantic City Feb. 22.
"Play in our rooms is going to go up and down whether Philadelphia has poker or not, because we are already in a highly competitive industry to begin with. We think of it in the long term. You have to provide what your players want and the service they expect to bring them back.”
When Revel Entertainment opens Atlantic City’s first new casino resort in nine years on April 2, CEO Kevin DeSanctis will be borrowing an entertainment page right out of his old Mohegan Sun playbook. Revel’s guests can expect to find free entertainment in a venue known as The Social, an open, 700-capacity room smack in the center of the gaming floor.
Resorts announces deal with Jimmy Buffett to add a Margaritaville brand complex to casino including a year-round beach bar.
Jimmy Buffett developed his legion of Parrot Head fans thanks to a persona that's part beach bum, part hippie, and music that matches his laid-back style. He brings his "Year of Still Here" Tour to B...
Dennis Gomes’ reputation as a pioneering leader with a zest for life only partially accounted for how well-liked and respected he was as an individual, which is why his sudden passing at age 68 on Friday, Feb. 24, shocked and saddened many nationwide, particularly those in the Atlantic City region where he lived and worked.
Dennis Gomes, CEO and co-owner of Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino Hotel, died overnight on Thursday, Feb. 23, of unconfirmed causes, according to reports and information released by Resorts spokeswoman Courtney Birmingham.
“I only wore this suit for you guys,” says Gomes, tugging at his collar. “When I’m working, you’ll never catch me in a suit.”
“I believe in [Resorts]. It heralded the beginning of casino gaming in the East and has always had a special place in my heart. It is an exciting place with a lot of history and we are going to bring it back to life with even more energy and vitality than it possessed at its creation in 1978."
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