Soper named president of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority
Mohegan — A search firm scoured the country looking for potential candidates to succeed Mitchell Etess, the top Mohegan gaming executive who’s eyeing retirement.
An especially strong one turned up at Mohegan Sun.
“When we’d call about a candidate, people would say, ‘Why are you calling?’” Etess said. “‘Bobby’s already there.’”
On Monday, the authority announced it’s promoting Bobby Soper, Mohegan Sun’s president and chief executive officer, to president of the authority, the tribal entity that owns and operates Mohegan Sun and Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and manages Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.
Soper, 43, a member of the Mohegan Tribe, will assume his new post March 30. He’s expected to add the title of authority CEO when Etess steps down at the end of a six-month transition, around the end of September. Etess, 57, announced in November that he would begin transitioning toward retirement this year.
“I’m humbled by the fact that they thought I was the best choice,” Soper said.
The authority also announced that Ray Pineault, a tribal member serving as Mohegan Sun’s chief operating officer, will succeed Soper, moving up to president and general manager of the casino. Thomas Burke, acting president of the tribe’s gaming management arm, Mohegan Gaming Advisors, will become chief operating officer of the authority, a new position.
For Soper, a native-born Atlantan with a University of Georgia law degree, the promotion culminates a more than 14-year career with the Mohegans. He went to work for the tribe in 1997, moved to casino operations at Mohegan Sun in 2001 and in 2005 to Mohegan Sun Pocono, where he helped open the facility — Pennsylvania’s first casino — and became its general manager.
In October 2012, he became president and chief executive officer of Mohegan Sun.
Soper’s buttoned-down demeanor and avowed passion for the study of economics belie the fact that he’s a big fan of the music of the 1980s. He declined to pose for a photo with the life-size cutout of Michael Jackson that stands behind his desk. Another office artifact, an Atlanta Braves jersey signed by Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux, hangs in a frame on the wall.
“He wasn’t overpowering,” Soper said of Maddux. “But a great strategist.”
Soper takes the authority’s reins at a challenging time, with looming competition from casinos authorized but not yet built in neighboring states.
“We’re prepared for further competition,” he said. “Once Massachusetts opens, it’s going to be a fully competitive, saturated market. We forecasted that.”
Mohegan Sun, he said, is in the best financial condition it’s been in for years.
“We’re still generating more gaming revenue than any casino in the western Hemisphere,” he said. “I don’t think that’s going to change.”
He said the authority would continue to pay down debt while looking for opportunities to expand, if not of the “beauty pageant” variety. In the last year, the authority failed to win casino licenses it pursued in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York. It still hopes to partner with the Cowlitz Indian Tribe on a long-proposed casino project in Washington state.
Pineault, 48, has also been with the Mohegans since 2001, first as general counsel to the tribe. He moved over to Mohegan Sun in 2006, first as senior vice president of administration. He said the transitions involving Soper and himself should be “seemless.”
Etess cited Soper’s “great communication skills” and his ability to address both the needs of employees and “the guest experience.”
“He sees everything through those two lenses,” he said.
Etess said he was gratified at the promotions of tribal members to top casino positions.
“When we got here 20 years ago, it might have been hard to envision,” he said. “It’s a proud moment for me and the tribe.”
b.hallenbeck@theday.com
Twitter: @bjhallenbeck
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