Mohegan Sun’s 3Q profit sinks

The parent of Mohegan Sun said Thursday that its profits plummeted 51 percent in its fiscal third quarter, as the tribal casino saw its table game and slot revenue take a hit amid the weak economy.

Net income for The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority fell to $11.6 million from $23.5 million in the year ago period.

Net revenues during the quarter declined by about 6 percent, to $354 million.

Meanwhile, operating income at the casino, located on tribal land in Uncasville, fell 17 percent during the April-to-June period totaling $45 million.

"We are certainly disappointed with our results for the quarter," said authority CEO Mitchell Grossinger Etess. "While we did experience sequential improvement in our revenues, particularly at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, earlier this year, that trend did not continue during the third quarter.

Etess said the third quarter results were significantly hampered by lower table games revenue and that the "weakness in consumer spending continues to be a concern,"

Table game revenues fell 11 percent during the quarter to $70 million, while slot machine income inched lower by 8 percent in the April to June period to $181 million.