Mohegan Gaming Moves into Ontario Casinos

Ontario’s Niagara casinos deal a perfect 21 to Mohegan Sun.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp (OLG) has several long-term plans on the table. One is to package up their regional casinos into what they call ‘bundles’ and sell off their day-to-day operations to capable casino corporations. The other is to modernize the province’s gaming facilities. The highest bidder who promises to meet OLG’s strict modernization standards usually wins whichever bundle is up for grabs.

That’s precisely how Mohegan Sun got its hands on two of Ontario’s most prestigious and affluently popular gaming properties; the Niagara Fallsview Casino and Casino Niagara. Both are located along the famous cataracts of Niagara Falls, attracting players from Southern Canada, as well as New Yorkers from across the U.S. Border.

Dues & Determination Win The Race for Mohegan Sun

OLG announced open bidding for the Niagara casinos bundle back in mid-2017, and it was an intense battle from the start. Canada’s largest gaming corporation, Gateway Casinos & Entertainment and Great Canadian Gaming, were interested in the properties, as were international conglomerates with Hard Rock Cafe, Caesars Entertainment, and Mohegan Gaming.

The two Canadian gaming corporations were the first to drop out as the bidding war became to steep for their taste. Before long, Hard Rock and Caesars also felt there were a few too many dollar signs in the mix to be worth their while. At least, that’s the word around the water cooler, since are exercising their right not to disclose the final price.

What we do know is that when the dust settled, Mohegan Sun, Inc was the last company standing, and a choice OLG found more than capable of handling the job. Now, two years after Ontario’s Niagara gaming properties went on the block, Mohegan is finally going to take the reigns.

Ontario’s Niagara Casinos Change Hands Tomorrow

On Tuesday, June 11, 2019, Mohegan Sun will send its new managerial crew into the two properties to take control of day-to-day operations for many years to come. How many years exactly? A perfect 21. That’s how long the company secured rights to the leadership of the Niagara gaming facilities before coming up for review in 2030.

The Native American tribal gaming operator is no newcomer to the industry, either. Mohegan Gaming operates a number of major gaming properties in the US, including Mohegan Sun Casino & Resort in Connecticut, Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Ilani Resort in Ridgefield, Washington, and Louisiana’s Paragon Casino Resort, not to mention their South Korean Inspire Resort.

Of interesting note, there’s about to be a cross-border tribal gaming war between the Mohegan tribe at Ontario’s Niagara Falls casinos, and the Seneca Nation, operator of the Seneca Niagara Casino on the New York side of the cascades.

The Seneca tribe is in the midst of a gaming revenue allocation dispute with New York State. Mohegan’s injection of modernization investments into the Canadian Niagara gambling operations, combined with Seneca’s financial conflicts, could give Mohegan Gaming just the extra boost it needs to bring more customers through its doors in the months to come.

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