The Mohegan Tribe on Monday announced it will promote three of its in-house executives as CEO Mitchell Grossinger Etess transitions into retirement over the next six months.
Etess previously announced to investors in November that he will retire in the fall of this year, sometime after his contract expires on June 30. Etess started working for the Mohegan Tribe as senior vice president of marketing 20 years ago – one year before the tribe’s flagship Mohegan Sun resort casino opened in Uncasville – and rose through the ranks to be CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA), which oversees all of the tribe’s gambling operations.
On March 30, the tribe will promote Robert Soper to MTGA president. Soper currently is president and CEO of the Mohegan Sun resort casino in Uncasville, which also happens to be the position Etess held before he became the first MTGA CEO.
To replace Soper as head of the Mohegan Sun property, the tribe has promoted Ray Pineault to president and general manager of resort. Pineault currently is Soper’s second-in-command at Mohegan Sun, serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Soper and Pineault both are members of the Mohegan Tribe.
Thomas Burke will take over the newly created position of MTGA chief operating officer, overseeing all of the tribe’s owned and managed properties. Burke currently serves as acting president of Mohegan Gaming Advisors, which works with other tribes and casinos on how to better their gaming operations.
In addition to owning the flagship Connecticut property, MTGA owns and operates the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs resort casino in Pennslyvania and operates the Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J. The organization also works to set up locations in other jurisdictions – most recently a failed attempt in Massachusetts.
