GGRAsia – Kontomerkos steps down, Pineault interim Mohegan CEO

Kontomerkos steps down, Pineault interim Mohegan CEO

Mar 18, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck

United States-based tribal casino operator Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment announced on Wednesday that Mario Kontomerkos (pictured) will step down as the firm’s president and chief executive at the end of the month. Ray Pineault, the group’s chief operating officer (COO), will act as interim CEO from that date, said the company in a press release.

Mr Kontomerkos had been appointed Mohegan Gaming’s CEO effective from October 16, 2017. He served previously as the company’s chief financial officer since September 2011.

“Mario played a critical role in the growth and success of the organisation,” said James Gessner, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, in a prepared statement. The authority controls Mohegan Gaming.

“We thank Mario for his many years of service to the tribe and Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, more recently navigating the company successfully through the ongoing global pandemic as well as a major refinancing earlier this year,” he added.

Mohegan Gaming is developing the Inspire Entertainment Resort, a complex with a foreigner-only casino, near Incheon International Airport, South Korea’s main air hub. The company has asked authorities in South Korea to postpone to 2023 the opening of that complex.

The group has also teamed with a Japan unit of Hong Kong-listed Oshidori International Holdings Ltd for a tilt at creating a casino resort in the Japanese prefecture of Nagasaki.

In Wednesday’s release, Mr Gessner said that Mohegan Gaming’s COO Mr Pineault would serve as interim CEO, while the company searches for a new CEO.

Mr Pineault was described in the release has having more than “20 years of experience” with Mohegan Gaming, assuming the COO position in July 2020. He also served as regional president at the company, and president and general manager of the brand’s flagship property, Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, in the United States.

Mohegan Gaming additionally announced on Wednesday the appointment of Carol Anderson as the firm’s chief financial officer. Ms Anderson served most recently as senior vice president for treasury and capital markets at casino equipment maker and games provider Scientific Games Corp.