Duly Inspired Across the Pond: Mohegan Sun Goes IR in Greece

A tribal organisation from America is reaching into Europe for a hallowed IR license.

The Deal

A group led by Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment has reportedly lodged an aggressive €150 million ($177 million) bid for a license to build and operate an integrated casino resort IR near Athens, Greece.

Local Partnership

The Reuters report published in Yahoo! Finance indicates that the tribe is a cooperative effort between the Connecticut-based casino-operating arm of the United States’ federally-recognized Mohegan Tribe and Greek construction conglomerate GEK Terna in pursuit of a 30-year license.

Mohegan Steps Up

The IR project had already gained serious traction last January, when the nine-member Hellenic Gaming Commission unanimously rejected an IR pitch from Hard Rock International, which in turn opened the door Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment to bring an integrated casino resort to the site of former airport Ellinikon International Airport.

Joining Greater Redevelopment

At this juncture, the report further indicates that Mohegan Sun is seeking official permission to construct a massive gambling-friendly facility at the 1,532-acre seaside site being redeveloped as part of a greater €8 billion ($9.4 billion) plan.

The redevelopment is already underway as a joint venture by leading Greek real estate company Lamda development and foreign backers Eagle Hills enterprise from Abu Dhabi and China conglomerate Fosun Group.

Above and Beyond

Mohegan is apparently putting its best step forward to drive the application home.

Barely a week earlier, Greece's Minister for Development and Investment Minister Adonis Georgiadis revealed on local television that Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment had surpassed the local license bid minimum of €30 million ($35.4 million) by offering a “lump sum of €150 million.”

Inspire Athens

The next step in moving forward with the Mohegan Sun bid now has emerged as tendering a contract to the operator for the project, which has been named Inspire Athens.

Once signed, the entire deal would have to be approved by Parliament as well as local auditors.

Outlook

With the massive bid fueling rapid momentum towards a successful conclusion, this looks the like the very beginning of a fascinating new era of flush tribal gaming organisations in the US expanding their operations with greater IR opportunities in the thriving European iGaming markets.