The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority announced Thursday that it made $461.7 in revenue for the first quarter in 2024, the highest total in the history of the Connecticut-based casino operator.

Executives for the Connecticut casino announced the figure on Thursday during an earnings call with investors. Overall, net revenues were up 13.8 percent for Mohegan compared to the same period last year. 

INSPIRE South Korea Creates New Revenue Stream

Company executives attributed most of the gains to two key factors. First, there is continued growth in the digital division of the company, which includes the Mohegan Sun online casino portfolio in the United States. 

In addition, the company has opened a new integrated resort known as Mohegan INSPIRE in Incheon, South Korea. The casino – open only to foreigners – opened on Feb. 3, while the resort fully opened on March 5. 

INSPIRE generated net revenues of $35.9 million by the end of March. Opening costs still created an Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) loss of $24.1 million in Korea for the company, but executives say that won’t be a lasting issue. 

“The resort is still in its ramp up phase but we are pleased with the trends we’re seeing in April and May,” Mohegan COO Joe Hasson said during the earnings call. “What we see right now is breakeven EBITDA on the near horizon measured month to month. Of course, during the initial ramp, like any resort of that caliber, we had to spend both on labor and marketing dollars in order to give the ramp and the launch the right umph and the right velocity.”

Executives said they were seeing a positive reception to the resort as a whole, though they didn’t break down gaming vs. non-gaming revenue in the early days of INSPIRE’s opening.

“Not only from the local market and in South Korea, but we’re actually seeing receptivity in China and Japan and Taiwan as well,” Mohegan President and CEO Ray Pineault told investors. “We’re really encouraged by the visitation we’re seeing across the region.”

Mohegan Winding Down Management of Las Vegas, Atlantic City Casinos 

INSPIRE is the first property operated by Mohegan outside of North America. The Mohegan Tribe began its foray into the casino industry in 1996, when it opened Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. Today, the tribe also operates casinos in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington, Las Vegas, and two resorts on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

Those casinos did well for Mohegan this quarter, though they weren’t the main profit drivers. Mohegan’s American casinos were up one percent in net revenue to $300.4 over last year, while the two Niagara Falls facilities generated $72.2 million, up two percent over the first quarter of 2023. 

Mohegan is scaling back its domestic operations while it expands internationally – at least when it comes to the casino management business. 

The company announced earlier this year that it would relinquish management of Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City by the end of 2024, though it will retain a 10 percent ownership interest in the property. Its contract to run the ilani Resort Casino in Ridgefield, Washington, will end in July. 

And on Tuesday, Mohegan announced it will stop managing the Mohegan Casino at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas by the end of the year.

“Mohegan was proud to be the first Native American tribe to operate in the Las Vegas Strip corridor,” Pineault said on the call. “And now that we’ve completed our objectives to launch the casino and its day-to-day operations, we believe this is a natural progression for the casino to be managed in-house.”

(Image: courtesy of Mohegan Sun)