The organization is optimistic after a strong profit report according to the tribal authority that owns and operates the Mohegan Sun, and casino president Robert J Soper. Cost cutting and increased slot machine and table game use rather than revenue growth, has driven the improvement in the casino. Significant changes in the casino’s marketing and promotional strategies by the Mohegan also reduced expenses which were down by nearly $14 million to $263.5 million, from $277.3 million for the same quarter a year ago.

The Mohegan in Connecticut employs about 7,000, and 10,000 overall, which includes its Mohegan Sun Pocono casino in Wilkes-Barre, Pa, and according to Soper, jobs did not get cut in the recent quarter, but some positions were eliminated through attrition.

According to the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, slot machine revenue of $142.2 million at the casino was up about 3 percent from the third quarter of 2014, for a profit of $28.1 million which doubles the quarter’s profits from last year. The Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania casino also saw an increase of 12 percent for table game revenue at about $11.8 million. The authority’s fiscal year starts Oct. 1. At $325 million in the quarter, net revenues were nearly flat, but slot machine revenue showed a promising upturn in the quarter.

Expansion, including a second hotel at its Montville venue, and debt to earnings the lowest since 2008, below the average for U.S. casinos, has Soper looking ahead optimistically. The upward swing is expected to endure as debt is repaid and cost-cutting continues, according Soper, president and CEO of the Connecticut casino, who succeeded Mitchell Grossinger Etess on March 30.

In a push to compete with MGM’s $800 planned casino which officially broke ground in March in Springfield, Mohegan has joined with rival, Foxwoods Resort Casino, in an effort to establish a jointly operated casino in north central Connecticut by the beginning of next years legislative session in February.

A measure passed this year by Governor Dannel P. Malloy and state lawmakers, establishes a process that could mean a new tribal casino close to the state line that would enable it to vie for gambling traffic with the casinos earmarked to open in Massachusetts. MGM hopes to attract visitors from Connecticut and has publicly vowed to block efforts to open a third casino in Connecticut.

One of the largest gaming and entertainment sights in the U.S., the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut was opened in 1996 by accountant, business magnet, and Chief Executive Officer for One&Only Resorts, Sol Kerzner. In 2000 Kerzner opened the second phase through a joint venture with the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, and although they relinquished their management in 2002, Kerzner received a 5% dividend until 2014.