Mohegan completes new exec. team

PHOTO | Contributed Michael Silberling begins as senior vice president and chief operating officer for MGE on Oct. 8.

Write a Comment

By Joe Cooper

The tribal operators of Mohegan Sun added two more senior executives Thursday, completing a year-long effort to rebuild its C-suite.

Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE), overseers of the casino and other subsidiaries in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, said it tapped Michael Silberling as senior vice president and chief operating officer and Thomas Smock as senior vice president and general counsel. Silberling and Smock begin work this month.

Smock’s posts are newly created positions while Silberling succeeds Thomas Burke, MGE’s current chief operating officer, who is retiring at year-end, a spokesman said Friday.

The new hires come about a year after MGE named Mario Kontomerkos as its new CEO.

MGE in August named three senior executives to new positions in leading the company “into its next phase of growth.” The company says its latest executive hires will help the company’s long-term vision of “becoming a worldwide industry leader” in entertainment resort development and management.

Beginning Oct. 8, Silberling is bringing more than 30 years experience to Mohegan after several roles leading global resorts across the U.S. and internationally. He recently served as CEO for Affinity Gaming and was previously president of international operations for Caesars Entertainment and managing director for London Clubs International, overseeing 15 casinos across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Smock joined MGE on Monday working on the company’s legal and compliance functions after 20-plus years as an executive and general counsel for several casino gaming companies including Aristocrat Technologies and Penn National Gaming.

He recently was senior vice president and general counsel and compliance chair for all of the companies under Las Vegas Sands Corp.

As previously reported, MGE and Foxwoods suffered a blow last weekend in their efforts to build a $300 million entertainment complex in East Windsor to stave off competition from recently opened MGM Springfield.

A federal judge struck a decision on Sept. 29 that Connecticut and the Mashantucket Pequots have no legal standing to compel the Department of the Interior to accept its changes to the state’s long-standing gambling agreement with the tribe.

Connecticut's approval for the East Windsor casino last year was contingent on the Interior Department signing off on the revisions to the gambling agreement. The project is blocked without the federal authorization.

A CT Mirror report contributed to this story