Mohegan - Mitchell Etess may have given retirement some thought, but he says it's no reflection on his or Mohegan Sun's commitment to a Thompson, N.Y., casino project.

Etess, president and chief executive officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, hastened this week to make that clear to the New York State Gaming Commission, which could award up to four casino licenses for upstate regions, including the one Mohegan Sun is pursuing for the Catskills.

In a letter Monday to Gail P. Thorpe, the commission's supervisor of contract administration, Etess wrote that he expects to remain with the authority "far beyond the end of my current employment contract, which expires June 30, 2015, and well beyond that in an emeritus capacity."

Etess took many by surprise last Thursday when he revealed in a conference call with financial analysts that he will begin transitioning toward retirement. He said the authority planned to name a president this spring who would eventually succeed him as CEO at the end of an indefinite transition period.

Etess said Wednesday that members of the team pursuing the $500 million Mohegan Sun at the Concord project, including Westchester, N.Y., developer Louis Cappelli, thought Etess should reassure gaming regulators of his commitment to the project.

"We wanted to be sure they understood my interest is not going to wane," Etess said.

Etess has a personal tie to the Concord project, having grown up at Grossinger's, his family's resort, in nearby Liberty, N.Y. Grossinger's and the Concord were among the resort hotels that thrived during the Catskills' heyday.

"… I am fortunate that scaling back my day-to-day responsibilities with the MTGA will afford me the opportunity to oversee more closely this project, which remains near and dear to my heart," Etess wrote in his letter. "Essentially, once the President comes on board, I will be providing overall strategic guidance to the MTGA and be solely focused on the Concord, should you be kind enough to award us the license for the Catskills region."

Project officials have said Mohegan Sun at the Concord could be built in as little as 14 months.

"It's not unreasonable that I could see it through to fruition," Etess said.

The New York Gaming Facility Location Board, which next meets Dec. 17, is expected to identify at that time the projects it will recommend to the gaming commission. Sixteen applicants are in the running, including three that have proposed projects in the Catskills.

Etess has said that the Catskills region could accommodate two projects, preferably Mohegan Sun at the Concord and Empire Resorts' Montreign Resort Casino, which also would be developed at the former site of the Concord Hotel in Thompson.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com

Twitter: @bjhallenbeck