\nUNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) \u2013 A gaming slump is eating into the profits of Mohegan Sun, but the 2,000 tribal members who draw benefits from the massive casino aren\u2019t feeling the pinch \u2013 not with money coming in from a burgeoning Mohegan Tribe gaming empire.<\/p>\n
\tUnder a strategy that began before the downturn hit Connecticut\u2019s Mohegan Sun, one of the world\u2019s biggest casinos, the tribe\u2019s gaming company is running casinos in Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, N.J., and pursuing more projects in states including Washington, New York, and Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe have to take care of their tribe membership and the benefits they are able to get, and they are not shrinking,\u201d said Mitchell Etess, CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority. \u201cIf you just were to stay here, you would not have an increasing amount of revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe Mohegans, who opened their flagship Mohegan Sun casino on tribal land in 1996, are among a small number of American Indian tribes \u2013 and perhaps the most ambitious \u2013 to put their gaming expertise to work at commercial casinos outside their reservations. For tribes that can pull it off, it\u2019s a way to diversify and protect against losses as the casino boom cuts into profits at individual properties.<\/p>\n
\tMohegan Sun once dominated the region\u2019s gaming market along with the neighboring Foxwoods Resort Casino, owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, and both tribes moved to expand years ago in anticipation of the competition that now has arrived in force. Mashantucket Pequot chairman Rodney Butler said if not for the 2008 downturn that dried up funding, it would have a presence by now in markets including San Diego and Philadelphia. It is now pursuing casinos in areas including Massachusetts and the U.S. Virgin Islands.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe knew it wouldn\u2019t last forever,\u201d Butler said of Connecticut\u2019s lock on the market. He noted Foxwoods is also building an outlet center mall. \u201cWhen you look at the long-term viability as more states are expanding gaming, you\u2019re going to have to go beyond the reservation, leverage what you\u2019ve built.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tNearly 240 tribes operate more than 420 gaming establishments across 28 states.<\/p>\n
\tWhile some Western tribes have opened multiple casinos on vast reservations, very few have the experience, capital and reputation to manage or open commercial casinos, said Alan Meister, an economist with the Nathan Associates consulting firm. Tribes that do so must deal with the same tax and regulatory issues as any other private company, without the protections of sovereignty.<\/p>\n
\tOthers to pursue strategies similar to those of the Connecticut tribes are Florida\u2019s Seminole Indians, through their Hard Rock franchise, and Oklahoma\u2019s Chickasaw Nation, which has bought racing facilities through its Global Gaming subsidiary.<\/p>\n
\tThe Mohegans\u2019 expansion began in 2006 with the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs casino in Pennsylvania, and in 2012, the tribe\u2019s gaming company took over management of the Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. It is competing with Wynn Resorts for a license to open a casino in the Boston area. In addition, it\u2019s part of a group bidding to run a casino in Philadelphia, and it has a contract with the Cowlitz Indian Tribe in Washington state to build a casino. It\u2019s also pursuing a project in New York\u2019s Catskills and recently bid for the Miami Jai-Alai casino in Florida.<\/p>\n
\tWhile the tribe\u2019s only Indian casino is in Connecticut, Etess said the gaming company reflects the family oriented values of its tribal owners, including a focus on employee culture.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe have quarterly numbers and everything, but it\u2019s more about long-term vision. The tribe likes to say: \u2018Look 13 generations forward and 13 generations back,\u2019\u201d Etess said.<\/p>\n
\tDespite the new riches, tribal medicine woman Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel said only a half-century ago tribal members had to share food to keep from going hungry. She said younger tribal members today are grateful for benefits that allow them to graduate from college without massive loans.<\/p>\n
\tAlthough the Mashantuckets have halted payments to tribal members that once exceeded $100,000 annually, Mohegan officials say they have never emphasized large cash payments to members. In addition to what they describe as modest stipends for members, the revenue has gone toward education and health benefits, including an elder housing facility, and shoring up cultural institutions.<\/p>\n
\tTantaquidgeon Zobel said the tribe feels a responsibility to future generations.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe generation before us had nothing and gave us this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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