The top executive for the Mohegan Sun casino said yesterday that he’s looking ahead to a turnaround in the national economy and a realignment of political perceptions in Massachusetts, both of which are needed for him to push ahead with plans for a resort casino in the western part of the state.

“Right now it’s still viable,” said Mitchell Etess, chief executive officer of the casino in Uncasville, Conn.

He spoke to The Journal after addressing a gathering of the Small Business Association of New England in Waltham, Mass., where he talked about the casino industry and the Mohegan tribe’s hopes for a resort in Palmer, Mass.

The meeting came amid renewed debate over whether increased gambling revenue can help resolve an economic crisis that has left Massachusetts with a $1.1-billion budget deficit in the 2009 fiscal year and $3.5 billion in anticipated cuts to start its 2010 fiscal year in July.

In 2007, prompted by the Mashpee Wampanoags’ plans for a tribal-run casino in Southeastern Massachusetts, Governor Patrick proposed licensing three casinos, indicating only that he would give preference to a Massachusetts Indian tribe for one gambling license.

Plans for commercial casinos surfaced rapidly in New Bedford, Boston, Marlboro and elsewhere.

The Mohegan tribe joined a group looking to build a casino on a 152-acre site in Palmer, which lies along the Massachusetts Turnpike near Springfield.

“We’ve kind of staked out Western Massachusetts,” Etess said. “It’s what we think works best for us.”

Patrick’s plans ran into opposition from a number of business and political factions. While Massachusetts politicians bickered, the world economy nosedived, the loan markets seized up and Americans started pinching pennies.

Casinos across the country saw revenues drop and investors shelved plans projects such as the one the Mohegan tribe envisions for Palmer.

Slot revenues at Mohegan Sun have fallen steadily for months, decreasing by 9 percent in February and 8.7 percent in January. Mohegan Sun has not reported a year-over-year gain since May 2008.

The tribe’s slot parlor in Pennsylvania bucked the trend. Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs generated $17.8 million in slot revenue last month, a 43.5-percent gain from the same month the previous year, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

It was perhaps the only bright spot for the Mohegan tribe in recent months.

This month, Massachusetts Treasurer Timothy Cahill unveiled a plan to license as many as three slot parlors. Cahill said the plan could generate $2 billion to $3 billion in up-front licensing fees and up to $250 million annually in tax revenue.

The federal government dealt the tribe a blow in January when it denied the Menominee tribe of Wisconsin permission to build a casino in that state. The Mohegans were partners in that project. In mid-2008, the Mohegans lost a separate bid for a casino license in Kansas.

Etess said he is certain that a resort casino is best for Massachusetts.

“Our belief is that, for the long-term, a resort casino brings in more revenue and has a much greater impact” to a local economy, he said.

He said he is patient about the future of the Palmer project.

“It’s nothing that [we’re] doing today,” he said of the project.

He envisioned a time a year or two down the road when the economy should be back on the upswing.

“If the credit markets aren’t open by then, there’s going to be more issues than that,” Etess said. “Palmer will be the least of America’s problems.”

pgrimald@projo.com