Luzerne County Commissioners Announce Plan Ensuring Continued Operation of Pocono Downs by Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, as well as Full Tax Requirement Under State Gaming Laws

(Wilkes-Barre)-Luzerne County Commissioners Gregory A. Skrepenak and Todd A. Vonderheid, along with Robert Soper, president and CEO of the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, and the elected officials of the City of Wilkes-Barre and the Downs’ host community, Plains Township, today announced an agreement that would ensure that the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority remains operator of the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs race track and proposed casino, brings between 800 and 1,000 news jobs and more than $200 million in investments to Luzerne County, and meets tax obligations under Pennsylvania Gaming Laws which will benefit Luzerne County. Under the agreement, Luzerne County would assist the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in presenting applications for a limited amount of state and federal funding over the next five years.

“With this agreement, Mohegan Sun will contribute $10 million dollars per year to the people of Luzerne County as designed in the gaming laws drafted by our legislators,” said Commission Chairman Skrepenak. “To help Mohegan Sun ramp up its operation and offset potential losses during its first years of operation, we intend to help the Downs prepare applications for up to $3 million state and federal funding each year for the next five years. Luzerne County is already the funnel for all in-county applications for this funding, and the state will ultimately decide whether or not those applications will be honored. We think this show of good faith in Mohegan Sun will pay off one-thousand fold for the people of Luzerne County in the years to come.”

According to Pennsylvania Gaming Law, the $10 million dollars which Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs must contribute annually is to be channeled into a fund earmarked for community and economic development projects in Luzerne County. If the state honors Mohegan Sun’s annual applications, there would still be ample money left for community development projects in Luzerne County.

“We’ve learned that in an average year, only a limited number of projects throughout Luzerne County are actually developed to the point where funding is essential,” said Commissioner Vonderheid. “Even if the state honors Mohegan Sun’s request over the next 5 years, there will still be plenty of resources in the fund to channel into other development activities in the county. And we’ve got to recognize that with the presence and success of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs comes hundreds of well-paying jobs for our residents, hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in our entire county, and an inestimable amount of tourism dollars that will filter out into our communities from here on out.”

The proposed agreement to help Mohegan Sun apply for funding during its start-up phase was developed out of concerns by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority that taxing formulas outlined in Pennsylvania’s 2004 gaming legislation would force smaller casino and racing operations such as the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs to pay tax rates higher than those required for larger gaming facilities in larger markets, impacting profitability.

Commission Chairman Skrepenak pointed to several reasons for today’s action:

“We believed it was imperative that the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, and the president and CEO of the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, Bobby Soper, remain as operators of the race track and slots license. The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority has a proven record of professional, highly-successful casino/entertainment facility operation. More importantly, since taking over Pocono Downs, the Mohegan organization, and in particular Mr. Soper, have demonstrated they want to be active, vital, contributing members of our Luzerne County community, and their enthusiasm and civic spirit have been felt well outside the boundaries of Pocono Downs.” Skrepenak continued, “Our support for this plan also had much to do with timing. When the slots license is granted, Mohegan Sun will hit the ground running. If that license were shifted to another organization it would take months, and the economy of Luzerne County would be losing millions of dollars in income.”

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs expects to be granted its gaming license by late September of this year.