Tunica-Biloxi Gaming Authority Confirms Agreement with Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA)
Marksville, La. April 28, 2016 – The Tunica-Biloxi Gaming Authority, the owner and operator of the Paragon Casino Resort, announced today that it has retained Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA), operator of Mohegan Sun properties throughout the United States, to provide gaming, hospitality and entertainment consulting services to its Marksville facility, beginning April 30, 2016.
MTGA operates two of the most successful gaming and entertainment destinations in the United States, Mohegan Sun in Connecticut and Mohegan Sun Pocono in Pennsylvania. MTGA is credited with advancing the once struggling Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, into record profitability over the four years that is has served under its management and investment contract. MTGA’s venture with the Cowlitz Indian Tribe of Washington State will introduce the $500-million-dollar casino project that will be the West Coast’s premier gaming, dining, entertainment and meeting destination slated to open in 2017. MTGA was recently awarded a license from the Korean Government to develop and build a first-of-its-kind integrated resort at Incheon International Airport in Korea.
Tunica-Biloxi Gaming Authority’s Marshall Ray Sampson Sr. said the agreement is in the best interests of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana. “We are looking forward to working with MTGA because of the valuable experience they will bring to our operations. They will improve our customer experience, which is our highest priority,” he said.
“In the state of Louisiana, we are known for our food, fun and optimum level of service that is unmatched anywhere else in the country,” said Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana Chairman Joey P. Barbry. “With the help of the MTGA, we will be able to reinforce this concept, exceed expectations of Louisiana as a whole and showcase Marksville as a premier gaming and entertainment destination.”
“This is an important day for MTGA and for Indian Country as a whole, as our agreement with the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe provides further evidence of Indian Country’s willingness to work together and share gaming expertise to attain the mutual benefits of self-sufficiency and diversification,” said Bobby Soper, President of MTGA.
About the Tunica-Biloxi Gaming Authority
The Tunica-Biloxi Gaming Authority, or TBGA, is an unincorporated governmental agency of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana. TBGA owns and operates the Paragon Casino Resort located in Marksville, Louisiana.
About the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana
The Tunica-Biloxi people first appeared in the Mississippi Valley. In the late 1700s, they settled near Marksville, where they were skilled traders and entrepreneurs. Today, the Tribe has more than 1,200 members throughout the United States, primarily in Louisiana, Texas and Illinois. The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe received federal recognition in 1981 for its reservation within the boundaries of Louisiana. The tribe owns and operates the Paragon Casino Resort, the largest employer in Central Louisiana. Through its compact, negotiated by the late Tribal Chairman Earl J. Barbry, Sr. and the State of Louisiana, the Tribe has been able to assist local governments in the area with its quarterly distribution of funds, totaling more than $40 million over two decades. For more information about the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, visit www.tunica.org and “like” us on Facebook.
About Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority
MTGA is an instrumentality of the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut, or the Tribe, a Native American Tribe with an approximately 544-acre reservation situated in southeastern Connecticut. MTGA has been granted the exclusive authority to conduct and regulate gaming activities on the existing reservation of the Tribe, including the operation of Mohegan Sun, a gaming and entertainment complex located on a 185-acre site on the Tribe’s reservation. Through its subsidiary, Downs Racing, L.P., MTGA also owns and operates Mohegan Sun Pocono, a gaming and entertainment facility located on a 400-acre site in Plains Township, Pennsylvania. MTGA also manages Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City and The Cowlitz Project in the state of Washington. More information about MTGA and its properties can be obtained by visiting www.mohegansun.com, www.mohegansunpocono.com, www.resortsac.com, www.cowlitzcasino.com or www.mtga.com.
