Mohegan is juggling a lot of things right now, from its digital goals to its plans for New York to its intentions for Korea.  What does CEO Ray Pineault think is necessary for omnichannel success at one of the world's most well-known Native American-owned businesses?
 Outside Towers at Mohegan Sun
 Pineault has been a Mohegan for decades and has witnessed huge changes in the way gambling has grown over the years.

 There was no such thing as online gambling when the tribe's main casino, Mohegan Sun, opened in 1992.  The company released its PlayFallsview mobile betting app in Ontario in 2022, almost precisely 30 years after it first opened.

 The launch of the online product, which leverages the Mohegan's Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort name, marked the company's entry into the new and competitive Ontario igaming sector. 

 Brand-focused
 Pineault, who has been in charge of Mohegan since May 2021, says that "upholding your brand" is the key to success as an omnichannel operator.

 Ray Pineault is the CEO of Mohegan.
 Ray Pineault is the CEO of Mohegan.
 "Our brand and name recognition are very strong, and our guests have come to expect certain things from us," he says.

 Mohegan is a well-known name in Ontario because to its Fallsview property.  It is mostly a land-based business, thus keeping its brand strong is quite important.

 Pineault says, "All of our brands have to be consistent across all of our channels, whether they are land-based, digital, or through the media."

 "We need to make sure that our digital business works very closely with our advertising and marketing team, as well as the land-based casinos, to make sure that our brands stay the same and that guests get what they expect from us when they interact with us."

 Digital is firmly in the driver's seat at Mohegan, fighting for space.  The company said that the division grew by 283.9% in its second quarter results.

 However, Mohegan is not the only company working in this area.  Since the Ontario government banned igaming in April of last year, a huge number of operators of various sizes have been trying their luck in the province.

 The PlayFallsview mobile betting app from Mohegan
 The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) reported in April that there were 45 gambling enterprises in the market, with more than 5,000 games available.

 This is very different from what is happening in the US.  Most states only give just a few licenses, and the big four—FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, and Caesars—are the most popular.   

 Pineault doesn't know if things will stay the same in the long run.

 "I don't think that 45 or more operators can make it," he says.  "Over the course of the first year and a half, a few brands have left the market."

 But there are reasons to believe that things might stay the same for now.

 "I don't think you'll see 45 operators make it."
 He explains, "There has been a grey market in the Ontario area for a long time, so they already have customers."  "I'm sure they're using that to get into the legal market, which the AGCO now controls.

 "I think it will eventually go down over time. I don't think 45 operators will make it through."

 Mohegan has a big share of the Connecticut igaming market because FanDuel is tied to the firm, but DraftKings is also a major player in the market.

 Pineault adds that Mohegan's brand is the best way for it to stay relevant through everything.

 He explains, "The gaming itself is a product that you can get anywhere."  "It's about who we are and what our culture is like."  What we can offer our guests in terms of entertainment, services, and other things.

 "We want to keep growing.  We know that other people will be trying to beat us.  We are in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New Jersey.  New York is on its way.  "We're here in Niagara."

 New York City
 Mohegan's real experience, meanwhile, is in land-based activities.  The state voted to start the process of giving out three downstate casino licenses as part of the New York budget for April 2022.  Mohegan and twelve other serious candidates put their names in the hat.

 Getting a piece of the Big Apple would be a huge prize, and the state seems to know this because the licence price is at least $500 million.

 Mohegan's Midtown East plan, which he is working on with real estate mogul Stefan Soloviev, would transform the way Manhattan looks.

 New York Mohegan is now bidding for one of the three downstate New York casino licenses.
 The business concept includes a 1,200-room hotel, a casino below, a huge Ferris wheel, and a museum about democracy. It is within a few blocks from the United Nations headquarters.  Very exciting.

 But the long wait has been boring for people like Pineault.

 He explains, "The process is taking longer than we thought."

 "There was a time when we had 30 days to send questions to the Gaming Commission, and the Commission said they could take as long as they wanted to answer."  We sent in our enquiries about 120 days ago, but we still haven't heard anything.

 State gambling regulators have suggested in the past that licenses will most likely be given out around the end of 2023 at the earliest.

 These delays are probably making people nervous, especially because the bidding process has put the business up against some of the greatest names in American gambling, such Las Vegas Sands, Wynn, Bally's, and MGM.

 Pineault says, "There's no guarantee we'll get it."  "We know there will be a lot of bidders there, but we're going to do our best."  We believe our project is the greatest for New York.

 Life and Seoul of the party
 Mohegan has a lot of other projects in the works, in addition to dealing with New York bureaucracy.

 the foyer of the operator's main casino, the mohegan sun
 Mohegan is in the last phases of building its $5 billion integrated resort, Inspire, in South Korea. It is expected to open by the end of the year.  The project is being built right now in Incheon and will be the biggest integrated resort in all of Northeast Asia.

 But in some ways, Inspire is a long shot.  According to Korean legislation, only non-citizens can legally gamble at the casino. This makes people wonder if there is a market for a project of this size.

 Pineault says, "It was always going to be a casino for foreigners only; that was the deal."

 "Will that alter in the future?  Who knows? Maybe.  Vietnam is one of many places that do this.  Japan and Singapore both allow it currently.  So it might also become a casino for locals.

 In the end, Pineault says that the casino will only be a small part of the project.

 "We're really basing our model on getting a lot of our money from non-gaming business, which will come from people in the area," he explains.

 The project has a lot of great things going for it, like 60,000 square feet of shopping and dining space and the biggest entertainment facility in the country, which already has a slew of K-pop stars and Western comics scheduled.

 Pineault notes, "There are a lot of staycations in Seoul."  "I've been there a few times."  It's a huge city.  It's actually bigger than Manhattan and quite crowded.  We think we're the excellent place for people who want to go away from Seoul for a staycation.

 Hard road ahead
 Reading a lot of the economic news over the past year has felt like trying to go through a tangle of inconsistencies.  People in the US are no longer worried about a recession, which has left many people confused about what will happen next.

 Pineault says, "I still worry about the economy and where it's going."

 Wombi Rock Lounge at Mohegan Sun
 "Recession hasn't happened yet.  Prices and interest rates have gone up, and so have goods.  But pay has also gone increased a lot.  So are we going to have a recession?

 A lot of people think that gambling is a pastime that always works, but Mohegan's recent history shows that this isn't always the case.  The casino was hit hard by the 2008 recession, and by 2012, the enterprise was almost bankrupt.

 The threat may come from a different place.  Pineault contemplates on the social friction that has split the country over the previous few years. 

 "Politically, there is a lot of social unrest, especially in the United States, and it's only going to get worse now that our former president has been indicted."

 Casinos as a safe place
 Pineault thinks this is bad for business, but it could also be Mohegan's reason for being.

 "We need to be a place that offers fun and entertainment to help people get away from the stress and trouble of the discord that's going on in the United States," he adds, and he is sure that Mohegan is ready to provide just that.

 Our culture, our people, and our team are the most important things to us.  We know we have a wonderful team and the proper individuals, so we will be able to give you the best service possible.

 "And I believe that the products and services we offer would be better than anyone else's, not just those at the resort."   

 Pineault thinks that Mohegan has changed gears in a big way. They are now competing successfully in both the online and land-based spaces.

 No one knows what these omnichannel goals will look like in the future.  But maybe it was always worth taking a chance.