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28 Hartford Business Journal • March 26, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com By John Stearns jstearns@HartfordBusiness.com M ario Kontomerkos' engineering degree has come in handy since he took over as president and CEO of Mohegan Gaming & Entertain- ment (MGE) in October. He has a lot of moving parts to man- age as he helps to engineer a diversifica- tion strategy for the Mohegan Tribe's business enterprise that spans from Uncasville and neighboring Preston to East Windsor, Pennsylvania, Atlantic City, Washington state and South Korea. The Trumbull High School and Cornell University graduate, though, portrays the calm and calculus to make it all happen as he juggles a full plate of big-ticket projects for MGE, which reported almost $1.5 billion in gross revenues in fiscal 2017. While the planned $300 million ca- sino in East Windsor, a joint venture with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, operator of Foxwoods Resort Ca- sino, gets most headlines these days, Mohegan Sun is preparing to open a large, $80 million expo center in June. Longer term, it's planning a signifi- cant non-gaming project across the Thames River from Mohegan Sun in Preston, adding a new complexion to the sprawling tribal enterprise and further broadening its business base. "We're so much more than gaming — we're entertainment, we're retail, we're restaurants," said Kontomerkos, who previously was MGE's CFO for six years. "It's a very strong position that we're in. I think if gaming goes down, I think non-gaming will just go up. … We'll make it up in other ways and we'll drive more people to the property." Moody's Investors Service, in a re- port on Mohegan's debt last fall, noted Connecticut's gaming market is highly vulnerable to further competition and long-term challenges to the U.S. gaming industry. But Moody's gave MGE a stable outlook, based in part on the 2016 opening of Mohegan Sun's 400-room Earth Hotel — giving the resort about 1,600 total rooms — and its diversification toward non-gaming amenities. While MGE has substantial debt of about $1.7 billion, its balance sheet strength has reached a level not reached in about 10 years, Kont- omerkos said on an earnings call last month. Moody's also noted an improved debt-to-earnings ratio. Kevin Brown "Red Eagle," chairman of the Mohegan Tribe and MGE man- agement board, said Kontomerkos has the attributes to guide MGE through its myriad projects while also display- ing the ability to have a vision for the organization and where it's going. "The great thing about Mario is that he's a steady hand," Brown said, adding that people can portray themselves as visionaries or efficiency experts, but Kontomerkos brings a blend across the spectrum and with a measured approach. "I can't think of a better person to lead the way." Kontomerkos also has "incredible teammates" to support him at the corporate and property levels, Brown added, noting MGE has "thickened" its corporate organization to meet MGE's many demands across North America and the world. "We aren't just the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut anymore," Brown said, calling MGE's growth exciting and necessary. Kontomerkos took time out recent- ly to share some thoughts on where he sees MGE headed. Disney on the Thames? The tribe is acquiring about 400 acres in Preston, site of the former Norwich State Hospital, to develop non-gaming attractions to comple- ment Mohegan Sun. The tribe expects to get the property in a year or two, after the brownfield site is cleaned up. The goals of the property: attract a younger customer who currently doesn't visit Mohegan Sun and draw visitors from outside Mohegan's core market. "We know that the growth will come in areas where we're not currently in today," Kontomerkos said. "We need to be able to expand into different revenue streams and that's why we're doing it." Kontomerkos did not provide specific ideas for the property, but the tribe has said plans for the so-called Preston Riverwalk Project include outdoor and indoor attractions, hotel and retail space, restaurants, housing, a marina and RV Park. Asked if it could include a Disney- like theme park, Kontomerkos said attractions need to bring in millions of people and integrate with Mohegan Sun, which attracts more than 9 mil- lion visitors annually. "You've got this beautiful river that separates the two sides and if there were easy ways to integrate and connect the two sides, I think that's sort of our vision," he said. "I don't think you're too far off when you say Disney-like," he added, noting a theme park could be among options. South Korea Mohegan is partnering on a massive casino-entertainment resort on which Kontomerkos hopes to see ground broken this year, with the $1.6 billion first phase opening about 2021. With additional phases over 20 years, the Inspire project totals about $5 billion. The site, adjacent to Incheon In- ternational Airport outside Seoul, is fantastic, Kontomerkos said. "Imagine having a plot of land that's approximately the size of Central Park next to JFK with that type of inbound visitation in a city with similar demo- graphics to New York City, because that's essentially what Seoul is," he said. "I think it could be a transforma- tional opportunity for this company." South Korea is underpenetrated in gambling and entertainment and presents decades of development op- portunity for MGE, he said. Kontomerkos' mind for numbers Mario Kontomerkos, 41, married and a father of three children un- der 7, can pull from a diverse back- ground as he steers the Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment ship. He started as a Pricewaterhouse Coopers consultant, then worked Wall Street financial roles that included research and investment analyst with J.P. Morgan Securities and Lehman Brothers, and consul- tant to large gaming projects, be- fore joining Penn National Gaming as vice president of finance, then MGE as CFO in 2011. A mind for numbers helps Kont- omerkos navigate the coordinated and "massive yielding exercise" of a building with thousands of hotel rooms and arena and restaurant seats, and thousands of square feet of retail and convention space. There's also a huge team aspect to make that work and deliver the right customer experience "and one of the things I love about Mohegan is we do that very well," he said. "Even though I started as an engi- neer, I sort of ended up in the right place," Kontomerkos said. A Future Beyond Gaming Mohegan's new CEO helping engineer domestic, global diversification Mario Kontomerkos recently took over as president and CEO of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment after serving six years as CFO, and is helping diversify the tribe's domestic and global business interests. PHOTO & RENDERINGS | CONTRIBUTED