Despite reporting a third-quarter revenue decline of more than 40 percent at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE) officials remain confident that the tribe can improve its standing in the Las Vegas market and make the property a successful piece of its overall operations.
On an earnings call earlier this month, MGE faced questions about the future of Virgin, and whether or not it would ultimately pull out of its casino management contract with JC Hospitality, the owners of the property itself.
However, MGE COO Jody Madigan denied the idea, saying that the company is still confident in its ability to turn things around.
“We still believe in the property and we want to be in Las Vegas,” Madigan said, as reported by the Nevada Independent. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure the property is as successful as we think it can be.”
Ironically, MGE, which is the business arm of the Mohegan Indian Tribe, posted net revenues of $1.67 billion for the fiscal year ending in September, which represented a new record for the company.
The bulk of that revenue, however, came from MGE’s other holdings, including its flagship Mohegan Sun property in Connecticut as well as Resorts Atlantic City and Mohegan Pennsylvania.
The company did not disclose a full-year revenue total for Virgin Las Vegas, but for the quarter the casino brought in $3.8 million out of a total of $444.3 million across all properties. MGE said its total operating loss for Virgin was $4.7 million for the quarter, including $3.1 million in cash flow loss.
“It is a little bit of a challenge but we are working closely with JC Hospitality and focused on trying to make that property a primary asset within the Mohegan portfolio,” Madigan said, per the Independent.
The biggest reason for the lag in revenue for the quarter, MGE officials said, was table game play—if hold on wagers had been “normalized,” the casino would’ve tallied $1.8 million in positive cash flow.
MGE first signed its management agreement with JC in March 2021. At the time, the company was the first tribal entity to operate a casino in Las Vegas.
Looking ahead to next quarter, the company said it expects to see better results, primarily because of the added visitation and spending attributed to the recent Formula One Grand Prix in November.
