Mashantucket Pequots Launch Strategic Business Partnership for Foxwoods Resort Casino:

Announcing Plans for Foxwoods Resort Casino at Biloxi Pointe

MASHANTUCKET, Conn.--()--The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation announces its plans for the development and operation of a Foxwoods-branded, casino resort, to be located at Biloxi Pointe in historic Biloxi Mississippi. Through a new strategic partnership —the Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprise will partner with Biloxi Boardwalk Ventures, LLC, Chris Ferrara-Sponsor, and with The Hartmann Group, LLC; the resort’s project management company.

“This is an exciting opportunity to not only expand geographic diversification for the Foxwoods brand, but also leverage our management expertise well beyond New England,” says Rodney Butler, Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council.

“Biloxi Mississippi is a proven destination tourism market, with its near-perfect, year round climate, casual coastal vibe and exciting nightlife—all of which provides a perfect location to feature our world-class entertainment offerings,” says Felix Rappaport, President & CEO of Foxwoods Resort Casino.

The new Foxwoods Resort Casino at Biloxi Pointe will be a $265 million premier, service-centric destination resort and casino located on a 23-acre site in the Back Bay area of Biloxi Mississippi. Easily accessible from the metropolitan regions of New Orleans, Birmingham, and Atlanta, the casino resort will deliver an unparalleled gaming, leisure and meetings experience to the 9 million people living within the 300-mile radius market spanning Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

Biloxi Boardwalk Ventures, LLC, Managing Member Chris Ferrara said, “The agreement with Foxwoods and The Hartmann Group fulfils a dream to develop this site and stimulate economic development by creating thousands of new construction and service jobs for the residents in the East Biloxi and regional communities”.

Spanning 23 acres of Biloxi Bay’s pristine shoreline, Foxwoods Resort Casino at Biloxi Pointe will employ several thousand regional and local residents in construction, resort and gaming operations. When completed, the 781,000 square foot full-service complex will feature both gaming and non-gaming amenities, including approximately 50,000 square feet of casino space, a 500-room hotel and 71,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space, along with a variety of authentic, regional dining options, retail, spa and outdoor entertainment attractions.

“We’re encouraged by today’s announcement of preliminary plans for a new resort development in east Biloxi,” said Biloxi Mayor Andrew ‘FoFo’ Gilich, “ Chris has been working on this for many years and the partnership with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe will certainly energize this project. This development has an opportunity to strengthen the Biloxi gaming market by adding a dynamic new resort that will help attract new visitors to the area. I’m eager to see their final design plans they are considering to help grow the market.” Gilich added that the Biloxi Pointe development will enable the 5th Street extension to U.S. 90 and complete the “Casino Loop” to Back Bay that has been envisioned for years. “This investment confirms what we have always felt,” added Gilich. “That Biloxi is the ‘right spot’”.

Detailed programming and design plans are currently in development, with a grand opening tentatively planned for the Spring of 2019. For more information and project development images, visit http://biloxipointecasino.com.

Foxwoods Resort Casino at Biloxi Pointe Sponsor Chris Ferrara and his Senior Management Team of Bill Kilduff, Stephen Turpin, Jr. and Keating Consulting, LLC, were advised by El Segundo, California, based TFA Capital Partners in its initial selection of The Hartmann Group, LLC as manager and subsequently advised Mr. Ferrara on the addition of the Mashantucket Pequot’s as co-manager with The Hartmann Group, LLC and as a strategic equity investor. Going forward, TFA Capital Partners will principally focus on the raising of additional equity and junior debt capital to complete the financing package (http://TFACP.com).

About the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation
The Mashantucket Pequots are a native Algonquin people, located in southeastern Connecticut, who endured centuries of conflict, survival, and continuity on and around one of North America’s oldest Indian reservations (Est. 1666). In 1637, the Pequots became the first native people to survive a genocidal massacre at the hands of European colonists, in what would become the continental United States. Pequot history is an unprecedented story of redemption and restoration, which today, is showcased at the Tribe’s world-class Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center (www.pequotmuseum.org). Today, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation owns and operates one of the largest and most successful resort casinos in North America—Foxwoods Resort Casino (www.foxwoods.com)—along with a variety of other enterprises, including the Lake of Isles Golf Course (www.lakeofisles.com); Pequot Pharmaceutical Network (www.prxn.com), and the Spa at Norwich Inn (www.thespaatnorwichinn.com). All together, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation remains one of the State of Connecticut’s highest tax payers and largest employers, and has contributed more than $3 billion to Connecticut through a first-of-its-kind, tribal gaming revenue-sharing agreement, enacted in 1993. Likewise, the Tribe provides generous contributions to nonprofit organizations that support its local communities. For more information, visit www.mashantucket.com.

About Foxwoods Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino is one of the premier hotel, gaming, shopping and entertainment destinations in the Northeast. As the largest resort casino in North America, Foxwoods offers a vast array of gaming in six casinos; AAA Four-Diamond hotels, restaurants from gourmet to express, world-renowned spas, awarding-winning golf, state-of-the-art theaters, and exclusive retailers. Perfect for both recreation and business, Foxwoods provides modern and versatile convention and meeting space to infuse new life into any meeting or event. At Foxwoods, you can be anyone and do everything with endless possibilities of experiences that are Anything but Ordinary. Foxwoods Resort Casino is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. www.Foxwoods.com.

Chris Ferrara
The $265 million resort casino is being developed by the Biloxi Boardwalk Ventures, LLC, headed by prominent gulf coast businessman Chris Ferrara (the “Sponsor”), on a 23 acre owned site adjacent to the Back Bay in Biloxi. The Sponsor owns several successful businesses along the Gulf Coast.

The Hartmann Group, LLC
Jeff Hartmann is a well-known and successful casino executive whose career spans 31 years. He started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Philadelphia in 1984, managing casino audits for the firm in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Jeff transitioned out of public accounting into the casino industry in 1991, and he was selected to join Foxwoods Resort Casino as part of the startup management team that opened Foxwoods in February 1992. Over the years, Jeff was intimately involved in all financial aspects of the development and growth at the property. During his five-year tenure, Foxwoods was the most profitable casino in North America. Since that time Jeff served as CFO and CEO for various gaming properties throughout the United States, responsible for overseeing corporate financial accountability, diversifying investments, and elevating resort service and development to achieve the highly coveted AAA four-Diamond status. Most recently, Jeff served as the interim CEO of Revel Entertainment, LLC in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After the troubled opening of the $2.4-billion-dollar resort, he led the company through a pre-packaged bankruptcy and a $40-million-dollar cost reduction. www.thehartmanngroup.net

Contacts

Foxwoods Resort Casino
Ashley Polo, 860-312-3100
or
Biloxi Boardwalk Ventures, LLC
Chris Ferrara
chris@biloxiboardwalkventures.com
or
The Hartmann Group
Jeff Hartmann, 860-391-0400
President
jeff@thehartmanngroup.net
or
TFA Capital Partners
Bill Newby, 310-341-2796
wnewby@tfacp.com

Contacts

Foxwoods Resort Casino
Ashley Polo, 860-312-3100
or
Biloxi Boardwalk Ventures, LLC
Chris Ferrara
chris@biloxiboardwalkventures.com
or
The Hartmann Group
Jeff Hartmann, 860-391-0400
President
jeff@thehartmanngroup.net
or
TFA Capital Partners
Bill Newby, 310-341-2796
wnewby@tfacp.com