Mohegan ― A prolonged application process hasn’t dimmed Mohegan’s interest in a license to operate a New York City casino, the tribal gaming and entertainment company’s top executive said Thursday.

“We’re as committed as ever,” Ray Pineault, president and chief executive officer, said in a phone interview. “We’ll continue to participate whatever the timetable.”

Pineault said Mohegan, which is partnering with developer Soloviev Group on a multi-billion-dollar integrated resort project that would be developed on the east side of midtown Manhattan just south of United Nations headquarters, was surprised by the New York State Gaming Commission’s recent announcement that it’s likely to begin considering applications for three downstate casino licenses in late 2025.

The commission has yet to establish a deadline for the submission of applications, Pineault said.

The Soloviev-Mohegan proposal, dubbed Freedom Plaza, is one of nearly a dozen that have been discussed publicly. Two involve upgrades of existing racetrack casinos in the borough of Queens and in Yonkers, a city in Westchester County.

Pineault said he thought the application process would move much quicker than it has. The original guidelines, he said, allowed for two rounds of questions to be submitted to regulators prior to the final submission of applications. Answers to the second round of questions have yet to be provided, he said.

At a March 25 meeting, Robert Williams, executive director of the gaming commission, noted applicants must secure local zoning permits and the approval of a local Community Advisory Committee before applying to the state Gaming Facility Location Board, which will make recommendations to the commission.

Projects proposed for any of New York City’s five boroughs must navigate the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedures, or ULURP, which could extend through the second quarter of 2025, Williams said.

Another requirement is that proposals be subjected to a state environmental review.

Freedom Plaza’s features include Mohegan’s 280,000-square-foot underground gaming area; a museum; open space; housing, including some 500 affordable units; dozens of bars and restaurants; a 1,000-room Mohegan-branded hotel; and a 250-room hotel bearing the mark of the Banyan Group, an international luxury hotelier.

Pineault said it’s impossible to predict when a New York City casino might open, though it’s not likely to be before 2027.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com