Mohegan-managed casino in Pacific Northwest will go its own way next year
Apr. 3—MOHEGAN — A reliable Mohegan revenue source will dry up next year when the gaming and entertainment company's contract to manage the Cowlitz Tribe's ilani Resort Casino in Ridgefield, Wash., expires.
Mohegan, the corporate parent of Mohegan Sun, helped develop the casino located about 25 miles north of Portland, Ore., and has managed it since its opening in 2017 in accordance with a seven-year agreement that ends in July 2024.
Kara Fox-LaRose, a Mohegan tribal member who began her career at Mohegan Sun in 1996, is president and general manager of the casino.
Cowlitz tribal leaders approved a recommendation last month that ilani begin transitioning from Mohegan management to "a self-managed enterprise" over the next 15 months, the tribe's chairwoman, Patty Kinswa-Gaiser, said in a statement posted on the tribe's website.
"The move toward self-management is a natural evolution for the Cowlitz Tribe, and one that many Northwest tribes have followed at this same juncture," she said. "While we remain committed to continuing our partnership with Mohegan through other endeavors and opportunities of mutual benefit, it was understood by both tribes that Cowlitz would eventually pursue a pathway toward self-management of ilani."
Ray Pineault, Mohegan's president and chief executive officer, expressed some disappointment Monday that the Cowlitz tribe had chosen to go its own way.
"We are very proud of the work we accomplished together over many years in partnership with the Cowlitz Tribe," he said in a statement. " We support the self-determination of any tribal nation, and while we had hoped to continue our partnership as we thought we had more to offer the Cowlitz people, we are committed to aiding a smooth transition."
The highly successful casino, one of the Portland area's most popular attractions and largest employers, has annual revenues estimated at between $400 million and $500 million, according to a report in The Oregonian newspaper in Portland.
In its annual report for fiscal 2021, Mohegan said it generated $70 million in net revenue from management and development fees, an increase over the previous year that it attributed to "higher management fees from ilani Casino Resort driven by strong performance at the property."
In fiscal 2022, that segment of Mohegan's business fell by 11.1% to $62.2 million, the decline "primarily driven by lower management fees from ilani Casino Resort."
Mohegan had announced a major expansion of ilani in 2020, including the addition of a 14-story hotel tower which is now under construction.
The Mohegan Tribe signed its agreement with the Cowlitz Tribe in 2004, four years after the latter gained federal recognition. In 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the Cowlitz Tribe's application to have 152 acres taken into trust for a reservation.
At the time, Mohegan was a 49.15% partner in Salishan-Mohegan, the company formed to manage the Cowlitz casino. Mohegan's management fee was to be 24% of the casino's net revenues.
The Cowlitz Tribe later revealed that before it pursued a deal with the Mohegans, it entertained an offer from Donald Trump.
The tribe is currently being investigated in a probe of potential violations of federal antitrust laws, according to The Oregonian.
