Hartford Business Journal

12 Hartford Business Journal | April 5, 2021 | HartfordBusiness.com On The Record | Q&A Despite downturn, Foxwoods CEO Guyot says new amenities are on the way By Greg Bordonaro gbordonar@hartfordbusiness.com F oxwoods Resort Casino currently has about half of the employees it did a year ago. The significant drop in workers — to about 2,400 active employees — reflects the deep toll the pandemic has had on one of the world's largest casinos, which happens to be based in Connecticut. But instead of dwelling on the downturn — as well as the significant decline in revenues over the past year — Foxwoods' recently named CEO Jason Guyot said he sees opportunities for expansion ahead, particularly as the vaccine roll out continues. In fact, over the next four to six months Foxwoods will unveil several new amenities he said will attract more people to his Ledyard-based casino. The goal, he said, is to build a fully-integrated resort experience at Foxwoods so people don't just spend a day there, but a few days, a week or longer. Length of stay is a key metric he will be tracking and trying to increase in the months and years ahead, he said. With 9 million square feet of space, Foxwoods already has plenty of offerings, he added, including the Tanger Outlets shopping center, 2,200-plus hotel rooms, 45 restaurants, two theaters, multiple spas, 36 holes of golf and a variety of other amenities. "We are going to continue to add to that and people are going to be looking for experiences, and in the near future you aren't going to be able to get those types of experiences anywhere but at Foxwoods," Guyot said with confidence. And he's got one new business venture that could become reality soon — perhaps as early as this fall. Foxwoods' parent, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, recently came to terms with Gov. Ned Lamont on a deal to legalize sports betting and online gambling in Connecticut. If approved by state lawmakers, the 10-year deal would give Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun and the Connecticut Lottery Corp. near exclusive rights to offer casino games and sports bets online. Lamont recently said he'd like sports betting up and running by the time football season starts in September. Foxwoods is already gearing up for the opportunity, having last year signed a partnership with sports- betting giant DraftKings, which will handle its online sports betting and iGaming operation. It also plans to open a new brick-and-mortar sportsbook/bar in a more central location within the casino. The new revenue stream will be important for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, which recently missed a multimillion-dollar debt payment before its lenders agreed to extend the maturity date until next year Prior to being named permanent CEO, Guyot had been Foxwoods' interim chief executive since April 2020, leading the casino through the financial crisis brought on by the pandemic. He's the first member of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to lead the casino and he has worked there since 2003, holding positions in human resources, marketing, gaming and hotel operations. Guyot recently participated in a Q&A with Hartford Business Journal to discuss his new job and the future of his casino. Here's what else he had to say. Q: Why did you want the CEO job? I have been here with Foxwoods for over 18 years. I grew up locally. I'm a member of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and am very proud of that. The Tribal Council had asked me to step in as interim CEO since last April and since that time I've really strived to take us forward through some of the most difficult times in the history of the business. Being here for so long I have my opinion on opportunities and am very optimistic about the future despite the pandemic. Coming out of this I am really focused on setting a new direction for Foxwoods moving into the future. Q: What do you mean by new direction? During the pandemic we took the opportunity to restructure the entire organization, from management and above all the way down to the frontline team. We used analytics to inform our decision-making and now we have a much more efficient organization and our staffing levels are based on the volumes that are coming through. That's been a huge benefit to us trying to weather this storm. I have a vision to make Foxwoods a fully-integrated resort destination. I'm very optimistic about future development that we are currently negotiating and there will be some very exciting announcements coming in the near future that I think the majority of our guests will be excited about. Q: What can you tell us about these new ventures? I can't really share a lot of details at this time but within the next several weeks and months there will be some very exciting announcements related to new amenities at the casino that really add to that fully- integrated resort experience. My focus is on increasing visitation, revenues and profitability — that's how I can help as we move forward. The goal is to bring the best in amenities to Foxwoods, whether we do it ourselves or partner with outside organizations. Q: How big of an opportunity will sports betting be for your casino? We think it's going to be a great opportunity. It grabs a lot of the allure for people interested in betting on sports, although the iGaming piece is probably most impactful in totality. Both are definitely going to increase revenue and traffic to the casino. We know we partnered with the best sports-betting partner in the industry with DraftKings. They will handle the online sports betting since they already have the technology to do that. They would handle the mobile online gaming as well so it's really a one-stop shop for our guests. We are also going to be doing Newly-named Foxwoods CEO Jason Guyot is preparing for the potential roll out of sports betting and online gambling at his casino. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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