East Coast gambling style: Mohegan Sun & Foxwoods

  Connecticut, United States
Wednesday, July 29, 2009

by Christine Ka'aloa




click on image above to activate slideshow
When you've
been to Las Vegas oh, "umpteenth times" like I have, you don't really
think of  slot machines and black jack tables existing beyond the
western border.  But visiting casinos without the  fun parks, roller coaster rides or headlining entertainment acts? Uh, you just have to really enjoy gambling for the sake of gambling,
which I do not.  Nevertheless, Hawaii people have a strange addiction
to Las Vegas and my family is no exception to the lures of Sin City.
For me, Las Vegas  stands for that half-way mark where I can spend time
with my visiting "gambler"  family without having to cross the Pacific
Ocean. What keeps me from my casino yawn are the neon lights, big
screen displays of show previews and nightclub splash, celebrity
impersonators, Cirque du Soleil and the fact that every hotel casino I enter invites me into a Universal Studios'
version of simulated life (the ex-art director in me who used to design
for thematic parties- and some slot L.V. tournaments.- appreciates
this...).
But ask me
about casinos on the east coast, aside from the ashtray of Atlantic
City?  Never knew they existed. With my sister and her Hawaii teammates
in town for a canoe regatta, the "islander gambling bugs" had their
curiosities peaked on Connecticut's Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods.  I went along for the entertaining ride...

We left
around noon in our Thrifty car rental for what we estimated to be a 3
hr drive.  All was going smoothly until our Magellan GPS re-routed us
to New Jersey before reaching the Connecticut turnoff.   The thing
about technology reliance these days is that 1) when you've got a GPS,
you don't think to take a map with you as a backup and 2) you get to
trusting your GPS technology even when all logic and instinct tells you
its been giving you bum directions. Two hours and one broken Magellan
GPS later, we realize  that we're headed deeper and deeper into New
Jersey and our GPS has no intention on turning us around. Luckily, my
mobile phone had Google Maps (technology again, I know, but this app
has a proven record of coming in handy)
So it actually took us 5-6 hrs to get there, but finally...
Built upon Native American Indian reserve, the Mohegan Sun Casino
was a dazzling example of east coasters wanting their own money clinks 
and not being afraid to be big and loud about it.  Those who think they
might catch a glimpse of indigenous history in the form of an actual
reserve (which honestly, was my interest...) will be disappointed, as
the first thing you're greeted by is a stadium-sized parking lot full
of indigenous asphalt.  The casino itself is Native American
Indian-themed designs on steriods, amped up to compete with the Vegas
strip's sadistically chic, splashy and stylish, while offering (thankfully)
diminutive "cheese". Intricately beaded fabrics and artwork, a
mechanical wolf on a simulated mountain peak and giant Native American
painting of a warrior reaching to the sun,...all powerful and
gorgeous.  The casino is huge and we were all in captivated awe at the
spectacle of it.
One seriously
cool thing was a stylishly-designed bar, perched above the casino floor
on a glowing crystal mountain.  The bar sported  a simulated
constellation so that you could drink "under the stars" at any time of
the day (while also throwing your time clock off). Unfortunately, the
drink menu was pretty unimaginative but it offers you a cup of
breadstick pretzels. Now if you're going to have a theme design, then
the art director in me thinks you should carry the concept through.
Just spouting the endless creative possibilities of fun (not to be
offensive)...The Tomohawk, TeePee, Sitting Bear, Wolf pack, Eagles' Nest, etc... for signature drinks or restaurant names would have been pretty fun and cool. Nope.
The shopping
area was significantly smaller and less prominent than Caesar's Palace,
LV but the restaurant options allowed a greater dynamic of pricey to
semi-cheap eats. Perhaps  my only disappointment with the casino was
the fact that it ironically held a strong preference for the east coast
version of Asian cuisine (aka "kind of bland and watery") and the only
Native American Indian cooking  found on the premises was in a gift
shop recipe book.  Also, no Michael Jackson or Madonna  impersonators;
something of the campiness that I actually appreciate Vegas for.
However, the casino does hold huge concerts with top notch visiting
celebrity rockers or Vegas style entertainment like Sting or Howie
Mandel.
By the time
we left, it was roughly around 10P. The Mohegan Sun hotel was actually
booked up due to a concert, so an overnight stay wasn't possible. But
there was just enough time to squeeze in a peek at Foxwoods casino (10
min away) before driving back.
Foxwoods
Casino is heralded to be the biggest casino in the world and it quite
possibly is; however, after the display of chic and splash of the
Mohegan, Foxwoods in my book, can be overlooked. Foxwoods' parking lot
easily spanned the size of Disneyland's but the walk over from its
sister casino, the MGM,... thru the looong corridor of shops, 
restaurants and space to the heart of the casino... convinced me that if there is a next time,
I'll bust out my aerobic pants and iPod and make it a workout.  We
didn't spend much time here so unfortunately, I couldn't tell you what
the big draw to Foxwoods is but I will leave you with this.  If I could
take 3 postcard photos of my highlighted impressions of Foxwoods
casino, they would be:
1) Of my walking shoes in blurred motion

2) The Mahjong room (or whatever that room was called that was filled with Chinese table games):

It was my first experience of feeling like I was an American tourist
visiting a casino abroad in Asia.  Everyone in this room was old and
asian from the thick except for the dealers and everything was written
in chinese signs or symbols.  (The chinese must be just as big gamblers as Hawaii people!)

3) The Poker room:

I never watched the World Series of Poker
but this is what I imagine I'd see if I did.  The air was stiff and
quiet like a library with the intense factor times 10 (you could "feel
the money"). Rows and rows of green tables with men being boys and
taking their game very seriously.
The Mohegan Sun Hotel & Casino

Driving Time: 3 hrs NYC to Connecticut- if your GPS (Magellan) is correct and doesn't take you to New Jersey

Needed: 2 GPS's or 1 road map