Mohegan Gaming To Manage Virgin Hotels Las Vegas Casino (Old Hard Rock)

Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment of Connecticut has entered the Las Vegas gambling market
with a multiyear agreement to operate the 60,000-square-foot casino at the still-under-construction
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Mohegan announced the move yesterday. Terms of the agreement with JC Hospitality, owner and
property operator of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, were not disclosed.

Hard Rock will close in February for an eight-month renovation and reopen in late 2020 as Virgin Hotels.
The property will be part of the upscale Curio Collection by Hilton.

This is the first move by Mohegan into the gambling mecca of Las Vegas.

Best known for Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment also has resorts
in New Jersey, Washington, Pennsylvania and Louisiana, as well as South Korea and Niagara Falls in Canada.

“Aligning the MGE brand with Virgin Hotels Las Vegas extends our growing reach into yet another legendary
global entertainment capital. Together with Virgin Hotels, experience seekers all over the world will have the
opportunity to partake in an extraordinary guest journey that only our strategic alliance can deliver,” said
Mario Kontomerkos, CEO of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment.

Sir Richard Branson’s global Virgin Group bought the Hard Rock in 2018 and announced renovations at the
1,500-room hotels in April of this year.

The Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes are also planning an expansion locally with the Tribal Winds
casino in East Windsor, Connecticut. The tribes have planned for years to build a casino at the former Showcase
Cinema site 13 miles south of Springfield and the MGM Springfield resort casino. The tribes want to compete with
MGM for Hartford-area gamblers. But the project is held up at the Connecticut Statehouse as competing gambling
bills appear stalled.

“Aligning the MGE brand with Virgin Hotels Las Vegas extends our growing reach into yet another legendary global
entertainment capital.” - Mario Kontomerkos, CEO of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment