Posted: Mar 28, 2021, 10:23 pm.
Last update on: March 28, 2021, 10:23 pm.
Steve Bittenbender
Continue reading
Hundreds came out Thursday to celebrate the opening of Las Vegas’ newest casino resort. Celebrities and reality TV stars were in attendance to christen Mohegan Sun Casino at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
TV star Mario Lopez had the ceremonial first roll of the dice at the Mohegan Sun Casino at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. The Off-Strip Resort is the first casino in the Strip region to be operated by a tribal organization (Image: Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment).
The event at the off-strip resort was a historic occasion as it opened the first tribal-operated casino in the Las Vegas Strip area.
The Casino Resort brings together several big names from the hospitality and leisure industries, as the Virgin Hotel is part of the Hilton Curio Collection. JC Hospitality owns the property.
Mohegan Casino offers 650 slot machines and nearly 60 table games in a gaming area of 60,000 square meters. Betfred sports betting is also planned for the property. The hotel has more than 1,500 rooms in three towers. The resort has a 5 hectare pool, an event meadow and a live stage theater with 4,500 seats.
Attendees at the event included Saved By The Bell star and Access Hollywood Mario Lopez, as well as Matt James, who starred in the 25th season of The Bachelor.
Casino Grand Opening is delayed
The new casino resort is located on the site of the former Hard Rock Hotel, which was closed in February 2020 due to the extensive renovation and rebranding project.
At that time, the Mohegan Sun Casino in the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas was due to open in the fall. However, the opening has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials announced the opening date on March 25 last month.
Richard Bosworth, President and CEO of JC Hospitality, noted the struggles the region had at the opening gala last year.
May Las Vegas live in a world where we never have to close our resort doors again, ”said Bosworth at the door opening event.
The exact investment amount has not been released. However, Bosworth’s LinkedIn page stated it was in the hundreds of millions of dollars. More than 300 employees at the Hard Rock Hotel, which was not affiliated with Hard Rock International, worked on the opening night of the Mohegan Sun.
Resort officials are hopeful too No resort fee policy will help draw visitors away from nearby competitors on the Strip.
Mohegan change in leadership
Ray Pineault, COO of Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, was present at the opening. He will become the company’s interim CEO later this week Mario Kontomerkos leaves the company.
In his remarks at the opening, he explained why the event was a special one.
“I know that opening casinos to Las Vegas is not a monumental occasion like you regularly do, but it is a monumental occasion to make a Native American tribe the first to operate in the Strip Corridor. We are very much into that proud.” he said.
Meanwhile, the man who replaced Kontomerkos is back with Mohegan Gaming. On Thursday, New London Day reported that Bobby Soper will become president of the company’s international gaming division.
Soper’s departure from the company four years ago coincided with his failure to announce that he was involved in a marketing firm that did business with Mohegan Sun Pocono. He paid a $ 60,000 fine to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
