2010 top stories: Hard times at the casinos

With gamblers still playing it close to the vest, revenues continued to decline at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun in 2010. The year began and ended with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe seeking to restructure more than $2 billion in debt. Its monthly distributions of Foxwoods revenues to tribal members were to cease at year's end. In September, Mohegan Sun announced the first mass layoffs in its 14-year history, eliminating 475 positions. The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority focused on refinancing - rather than restructuring - portions of its $1.6 billion debt. Late in the year, both casinos named new chief executive officers. Foxwoods tapped Scott Butera, a "turnaround artist" celebrated for steering casino properties out of bankruptcy. Mitchell Etess, CEO of Mohegan Sun and the MTGA, was to turn over responsibility for the casino's day-to-day operation to Jeffrey Hartmann, formerly the chief operating officer.

- Brian Hallenbeck