Thursday October 15,2015 : CAP ON MOHEGAN INVESTMENT IN ATLANTIC CITY CASINO
Tribal operator cannot hold more than a ten percent share, regulator rules.
Connecticut's Mohegan tribal gambling company, which operates the brick and mortar casino for Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, inked a new management agreement to 2019 with the casino Wednesday which removes an option for the tribe to increase its investment in Resorts Casino by buying a further 15 percent shareholding.
The tribe already holds a ten percent interest in the company, but investment beyond that has been vetoed by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.
Resorts Casino Hotel is owned by New York real estate investor Morris Bailey, who bought the company from Colony Capital in 2009 for $31.5 million in partnership with now-deceased casino executive Dennis Gomes.
Following Gomes' death, Bailey engaged the Mohegans to manage the company in return for a 10 percent stake and an affiliation deal that allows Resorts access to customer databases of Mohegan-run casinos in Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
Resorts runs online gambling operations in partnership with NYX Gaming and has a back-burner partnership with Pokerstars which has been awaiting licence approval for the online poker giant. That was granted last week, paving the way for a Pokerstars entry into the New Jersey online gambling market
Associated Press reports that Resorts returned to profitability last year, posting a $2.5 million gross operating profit, and expects to do better this year.