Paul Tresnan Builds to Honor 13 Generations Forward and Back

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While his accent immediately gives away his UK roots, Paul Tresnan has spent the last 16-plus years developing projects for Mohegan at its 8 properties across North America and Asia.

Tresnan, the vice president of project management for Mohegan says that when he took his first role with the organization, the Mohegan Tribal Council explained to him that its duty was to look back 13 generations and to look forward another 13. That obligation falls under Tresnan’s purview as well, and it’s not one he takes lightly.

“I have a deep-seated respect for our company and the Tribal values that underpin it,” Tresnan explains. “Their goals are about longevity. It’s not a quarter-to-quarter mindset. Whatever we do, we have to remember that we’re helping support not only the business but the Mohegan Tribe as well. For me, this is much more than just a job.”

Mohegan was the first Tribe to go to Wall Street to secure financing, the first casino to open in Pennsylvania, and the first Tribe to open a casino in Las Vegas in 2021.

Tresnan has managed projects in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Niagara Falls, and Las Vegas, as well as for the flagship property in Connecticut, Mohegan Sun. But he’s quick to point out the most vivid representation of the “long-term” view was when he helped bring the Washington-based ilani Casino Resort to life, a project in development for decades for the Cowlitz Indian Tribe.

“The Tribal members gave up so much time to make this happen for their future generations.”

Paul Tresnan

Tresnan says at the start of the design process he talked with members of the Cowlitz Tribe who spoke about their efforts to gain tribal recognition dating back to the early ’90s. Nearly 20 years later, the Carcierei V. Salazar of 2008 essentially precluded any new reservations from creating gaming facilities.

“It was a ruling that really impacted the development of Native American lands and put many tribes at an impasse where they had no means of moving forward,” Tresnan explains. But in 2015, a new ruling allowed the Cowlitz Tribe to uphold its rights to establish a reservation and build a casino. 

“There was an incredible amount of uncertainty and concern for a number of years, and then in 2015 the decision was overturned, and we were allowed to break ground,” he says.

That was only the only the beginning of a new set of challenges. The land on which the casino would be built was 156 acres directly off Interstate 5 in Washington. The location was great, but the interchange was substandard, and the two-lane bridge wasn’t up to seismic code.

Additionally, the project had opponents on multiple fronts. Other gaming institutions didn’t want the competition and other tribes fought to keep the Cowlitz from getting the project off the ground. Tresnan said an incredible legal team kept the fight from getting too dirty, but things would still wind up in the sewer, or rather, the lack of sewer.

“We faced severe restrictions from the growth management board which meant that the local town’s sewer could not be extended,” the VP explains. “How do you have a casino with no sewer?”

Tresnan’s team responded with novelty and ingenuity. An on-site wastewater treatment plant was constructed which utilizes deepwater injection to treat wastewater.

But what about that interchange? Local politics meant that they needed to renegotiate their agreement between the town on the other side of the interchange which delayed the start of construction by six months.

When the deal finally went through, the new interchange was built in just nine months and opened three weeks before the casino opened its doors.

Since that 2017 opening, Tresnan and his team have expanded the casino, added a 300-room luxury hotel, built an entertainment center, expanded meeting space and a state-of-the-art C-store, as well as a 2600 car parking garage.

“This project meant so much to me because I understood how long the Tribe had been working to create revenue for its people,” Tresnan says. “The Tribal members gave up so much time to make this happen for their future generations.”

Tresnan has loved working for Mohegan for exactly this reason. His work isn’t just about building and renovating casinos and resorts all over the country, it’s about ensuring the survival of a people whose traditions and lands have been in constant threat since Europeans arrived on their soil centuries ago. You understand how seriously Tresnan takes his role within minutes of speaking with him, and how much Mohegan’s long-term view is still cemented in his mind.

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