LAS VEGAS – The Connecticut Sun is again a bridesmaid in the WNBA playoffs. This time, falling to the Minnesota Lynx 3-2 in the WNBA semifinals. 

 The Sun has a well-earned reputation for success in the regular season and bittersweet exits in the postseason. They missed on the WNBA Finals by one game Tuesday night, as they did in 2020. They made it to the WNBA Finals in 2022 but got aced out by Las Vegas in 4 games. And they fell one win short of a WNBA title 5 years ago. 

 Among the many duties of Mohegan President and CEO Ray Pineault is serving as the No. 1 booster for the only major professional sports team owned by a native tribe in the U.S. 

 Pineault spoke to Bookies.com this week here at the annual G2E meeting. We caught up with him before Tuesday’s loss to the Linx. And while a WNBA championship remains just beyond the horizon for the Sun, its impact would be well worth the wait. 

 “We have an incredibly loyal base of fans. We've been one of the perennial top attendance teams in the league,” Pineault said. “Part of that is attributable to the fact that we bought the team, and UConn has always been tremendously successful. Gino Auriemma had a tremendous amount of success. So women's basketball was naturally popular in Connecticut, but to actually bring home a title would be such a testament. We were the first non-NBA team actually to own a women's basketball franchise. Actually bringing home a title to the franchise in Connecticut would put a mark on professional sports for Connecticut, where we are the only professional team in the state.”

 Pineault said the Sun’s game in Boston at TD Garden this past season was a commercial and PR success for the team but added the Sun would not support a WNBA team in the Hub. 

 “I don't want another WNBA franchise in Boston,” Pineault said. “As the league grows, we're going to continue to see growth. We get Massachusetts and Rhode Island fans who come to our games now. I wouldn't be a big fan of having a Boston team. I do think we're going to continue to work in Boston. We want to bring our product to Boston. We want more Massachusetts fans to see the product that we're putting on the floor. I'm a Celtics fan and I drive up to Massachusetts from Connecticut to go see the Celtics. I want people from Massachusetts to feel the same way about coming to see the Connecticut Sun.” 

 He sees the growth of the league focused elsewhere.

“There are protections within franchise-protected areas. The League would have to get the franchise owners within those regions to agree to it, but the league is going to continue to expand and grow. (Golden State, Portland, and Toronto have been approved for new franchises). I think that that is the right thing to do. However, they also want to get into other parts of the United States. They're in the Northeast with us and New York right now, but they're not really on the West Coast as much. They have the LA Sparks and that's really it. To expand and bring more people in, bring more regions in, is the right thing for the league to continue to do.”

 Pineault also spoke to bookies.com about some of the challenges and opportunities in the sports betting space – especially on the retail side – and the growth of the WNBA. 

 Here are excerpts of that conversation. Some of the questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity. 

Q&A With Mohegan Sun CEO Ray Pineault 

 Bookies: Is the retail book at Mohegan Sun producing the revenue you expected? And how does it fit into your casino ecosystem? 

 Pineault: We're involved in not retail and mobile sports betting. Our sports books at Mohegan Sun, Pocono Downs, and Niagara are tremendous amenities that drive table players, particularly men. The book also adds an element of excitement to the facility. Big events, whether it's the NCAA tournament, the Super Bowl, the NFL playoffs, or MLB playoffs, it's a time for people to get together, and watch their favorite teams play. And it brings an element of excitement. The fact is that 90% of sports waging is done online, but even when you're on our property, a majority of the wagering is either done online or through kiosks and not through a terminal. But you need to have that amenity because people want to come and enjoy it. And those people will end up eating and end up drinking. They may stay over. They may play some table games. So it's a tremendous amenity and we've actually seen our table players who have actually become more loyal guests because we have the sports book.

 Bookies.com: How did you guys settle on FanDuel and how is it working out? 

 Pineault: We had conversations early on when we knew that Connecticut was going to be approving sports wagering and iGaming in the state. We negotiated with them all along. We have a tremendous agreement and they've been tremendous partners. Anytime you open up something new, there's going to be bumps along the road from both sides and you've got to figure it out. They've been very responsive to us about addressing any concerns that we have and us listening to any concerns they might have.

 Bookies.com: Did the launch of sports betting in Massachusetts in 2023 affect Mohegan Sun in terms of numbers? 

 Pineault: No. Sports betting is a state-by-state issue. People primarily bet in their home states. Now can you have a wallet and then take it to another state and sign up there? But that's such a small part of the overall business because you can bet on your phone whenever you want. It’s had a very minimal impact.

 Bookies.com: Speaking of numbers, Mohegan has enjoyed some pretty good holds of late (double digits in 5 of 8 months this year). What is accounting for the success that the books are having versus the public? 

Pineault: Sports wagering is a low-hold, low-margin business. You’re looking to be on both sides of an equation – a winner and a loser? New England betters tend to be homers, betting on the Red Sox, betting on the Celtics, betting on the Bruins, betting on the Patriots. And if those teams aren't doing well, then we're going to hold well. So we've done particularly well. The Patriots haven't been good in a couple of years now. The Celtics won the NBA Finals, which is a little bit of an impact for this past year. But the Red Sox haven't been really good in a couple of years. So having those home teams that aren't very good right now, and I'm a fan of most of them, so it's painful for me to say, but it helps us from a betting perspective because people tend to be homers.”

 Bookies.com: Is having a retail book mainly thrive on big-time, tentpole events, enough for it to be sustainable? 

 Pineault: It absolutely is. We've already built it out. It's a tremendous amenity. It's absolutely beautiful. It's got private seating, it's got a private area, it's got an upstairs lounge. So even though it's on the big events, when you think about the NCA tournament, or Major League Baseball, or NFL, or hockey, or any of the major sports - it sells out in advance. And we can price it because it's in demand. During the regular part of the season, people still come out on weekends, people still want to watch their favorite teams. People still want to get together with their friends and put a few bucks on whatever game it is that happens to be on. It still brings people out. And it's never vacant. There are always people in there looking to watch games. And hopefully, wager a little bit. 

 Bookies.com: The WNBA has found the betting and TV ratings spotlight this year. How much of that is Caitlin Clark and how much of that is everybody else? 

 Pineault: I give a tremendous amount of credit to Caitlin Clark. She's a tremendous player. Look at her stats. She came out with a lot of fanfare. But I have to be honest, the league was growing already before Caitlin’s presence. She may have expedited it with her fanfare, with her tremendous talent, but the league was already growing. What the league was doing, what the president was doing was to continue to grow the league, continuing to expand the league. Caitlin's helped accelerate that. And I think there's another crop of women coming out this year that could accelerate that even further. So I have a lot of high hopes for the WNBA.

Bookies.com: Success has brought further scrutiny, and the downside of popularity, especially with players being harassed by fans in person and on social media. How effective have the players, teams, and league been in dealing with it? 

Pineault: Interestingly enough, I was reading an article today about college students, and athletes getting harassed. That is unacceptable in any way, shape or form. And we as an owner, and the league, have to take steps to make sure the players are protected. And none of that behavior is acceptable in sports whatsoever. The athletes are there to play and compete and win and not worry about what other people are doing from a betting perspective or gambling perspective. But to put a tremendous product on the floor that's competitive that people want to come out and watch. We need to do everything we can to make sure that the players are protected and put in a place where they can focus on the game. 

 Bookies.com: What is the line between passionate fandom and unacceptable behavior? 

 Pineault: I'm a sports fan. I love sports. I love all your major sports. And I’ve booed players. Whether they're on my team, or not on my team, I think it's OK to tell a player, you're having a terrible night, you're killing me. But to harass people individually, or approach people, or make them uncomfortable, is not acceptable. I don't know where the bright line is, but fans have a right to boo players, right? I mean, that's part of the game. It's always been a part of the game. For years when there wasn't betting outside Las Vegas people booed players. But there's no place for harassing people, for calling players, or in any way approaching them outside the stadium. It’s just not acceptable. And there's a decorum that we all have to have, whether you’re rooting for your team or against someone else’s.