I am not a gamer. I couldn’t care less about slots, blackjack tables and craps, and I dislike the smoky environment that pervades many casinos. And yet I recently visited Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, Connecticut’s two premier resort casinos near the Rhode Island border, lured by the expanding array of activities they boast for adults.

The Mohegan Sun, with their current 364,000 square feet of gaming space, now sits as the largest casino in the United States and the third largest in the world. Together with fellow Connecticut Indian casino Foxwoods, the state now has the two largest casinos in the country and two of the world’s fourth largest, with the other two being located in Macau.

Mohegan Sun is within easy driving distance of New York City, just two and a half hours by car, and also less than two hours away from Boston, making their location prime real estate indeed for a casino. It is located in Uncasville, just north of New London.

1992 saw the opening of Connecticut’s first casino at Foxwoods, which captured the interest of South African casino owner Sol Kerzner, whose properties included the Sun City casino. This is where the “sun” part of Mohegan Sun comes from, as his company was then known as Sun International, with Sun being prominent in their properties.

So the idea was put forth to build a large casino on Mohegan land, but there was one problem, the Mohegan Nation was not recognized federally as an official tribe, and therefore did not have the recognition of sovereignty that was required to move ahead.

So a company was created by Kerzner and his partners, TCA, and their first mission was to have the tribe’s sovereignty recognized, and within 2 years, the tribe got what it needed to move forward on the project.

Two years later, in 1996, Mohegan Sun opened up, and in 2000, TCA turned over control of the casino to the Mohegans, retaining a 5% dividend on the gross revenue until 2014. This has passed now and the tribe now has full ownership of the property.

Ironically, while this has stimulated the local economy immensely, the economic recession of recent years has been hard on the operation, as it has with Foxwoods as well, and as it has for casinos generally, and the Mohegan tribe currently has a lot of debt, but they aren’t worried.

Rather than downsizing, they are looking to expand the operation even further, and construction is underway for another building on the property, the Earth Tower, which is another beautiful building and when completed in the fall of 2016, will add another 400 more rooms to the complex.

After the players a certain number of phrases (usually five, but can be changed to any natural number), players must come up with the funniest possible definitions for their phrases. Definition of the word roulette. Once the phrases are accepted (or rejected), an independent judge will review all accepted phrases and score them originality, usefulness,.

Mohegan Sun has also teamed up with a South Korean company to build a $5 billion casino there, which will take the tribe even further into the big time, although make no mistake, their current casino is as big time as they come.

The Mohegan Sun Complex

Mohegan Sun is a glass building that is simply gorgeous both on the outside and on the inside. It features a prominent Native American theme, and no expense has been spared to create an atmosphere of opulence that rivals any casino anywhere.

There is an impressive 17 foot indoor waterfall called that not only is eye catching, it represents a notable moment in the tribe’s history, the crossing of Taughannick Falls. Mechanical wolves howl on the casino floor, which also is decorated with an artificial sky with fiber optic lighting, and the property also features several other motifs designed to both delight the eye and pay tribute to the tribe.

Some casinos have large entertainment venues, but Mohegan Sun just doesn’t shoot for large. Their Mohegan Sun Arena has a seating capacity of 12,000 people and is the venue for two professional sports teams. The WNBA team that plays here, the Connecticut Sun, is even named after the place.

They also have a couple of more intimate venues, the 350 seat Cabaret Theater and the 300 seat Wolf Den, as well as 100,000 square feet of meeting space. The property also includes the Northeast’s largest ballroom, and they operate a radio station as well, New London’s WMOS-FM, appropriately called “The Wolf.”

Their 34 story tall building also houses 1,200 luxury guest rooms and suites, a 22,000 square foot luxury spa, and a fitness center. There is also an 18 hole golf course on the property, as well as 130,000 square feet of retail shopping space.

If you like restaurants, then Mohegan Sun is definitely the place to be, with their massive selection of 44 different dining options, which includes 17 nightclubs and bars, all of which serve food as well. This is a dining and entertainment bonanza.

There’s lots of special entertainment events at their venues, including their arena, and guests are given a lot to take advantage of besides the casino, although the casino is the central attraction.

The Mohegan Sun Casino

There are a lot of large casinos in the United States, but none as large as this one. Dwarven 3 row slot machine. Their 6,500 gaming machines is the most of any casino in the world, so if you like slots, this is truly the Mecca. The casino floor has grown so much lately that even their website has trouble keeping up with updates, one part of it says they have 5,000, another part says 5,500, but it’s an even bigger number now.

There are slots of every kind and every stake here, including lots of video poker, and with penny slots, quarter slots, all the way up to $100 slots, to suit every bankroll and budget.

They feature the latest technology as well as many progressive jackpot slots, giving players the potential for some truly huge payouts.

Those who enjoy casino table games are also in for a treat, and there are 377 different gaming tables here, which is a huge amount for a casino, but this isn’t just any casino either.

They offer Baccarat, Mini Baccarat, Midi Baccarat, Blackjack, Caribbean Stud Poker, Craps, Four Card Poker, Let It Ride, Pai Gow Poker, Pai Gow Tiles, Roulette, Sic Bo, Spanish 21, Texas Holdem, Three Card Poker, and Wheel of Fortune.

They also have a 42 table, round the clock poker room, where you can pit your skills not against the casino but against other players. Players at the casino are rewarded for their play with Momentum Dollars and these rewards can also be used for buy ins for tournaments in the poker room.

The poker room offers cash play, regular tournaments, and even sit and go tournaments, and is a popular choice among poker rooms in the area.

Players who like to bet on horse racing, dog racing, and jai alai will find ample opportunity to do so here, at Mohegan Sun’s state of the art racebook. The casino also offers both smoking and smoke free gaming to suit everyone’s preference.

This is simply an amazing facility and if you like casinos then this is definitely one to experience.

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LONG post alert!
This past weekend, I visited Mohegan Sun.
I had no intention of making a formal / detailed report the way some people here do, but here's some notes about both facilities and casinos.
Connecticut has two casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, situated about 8 miles apart in Eastern CT. For whatever reason, the MGM at Foxwoods has it's own website, even though it is connected and uses the same casino chips.
My family tends to prefer Mohegan Sun. The architectural design, right down to the floor tiles, is like night-and-day between the two casinos. The hotel lobby, retail areas and casino have very free-form design with no right angles except where a wall meets a floor.
I tend to descibe them this way:
Foxwoods is very industrial looking, like it was designed by someone who designs shopping malls and coporate headquarters. Don't get me wrong. Foxwoods uses a lot of Indian influences in it's design. But, and this comes from somebody who has no knowledge on the subject and did no research, Foxwoods always gives me the feeling of New Mexico / Arizona / Navajo Indian designs that were added almost as an afterthought.
I do recall reading somewhere why the Mashantucket Pequot tribe uses the lone fox and tree with fire in its logo.
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Yet, I do not see any of those design elements used architecturally. Heck, there's a statue of an archer, but no fox!
Mohegan Sun, on the other hand, is what I call 'the white man's opinion of what an Indian resort should look like.' While it too may use some Indian designs that are not native to the Mohegan tribe, nothing strikes me as being such. Quite the contrary.
I have read that their logo is supposed to be a stylized sun:
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That sun logo, or creative versions of it, are used all over as design elements in the carpeting, wallpaper, even the ceilings.
I have photos, somewhere, which shows some of this amazing design work. I'll post them here in a couple days.
The differences in Foxwoods' shopping mall/corportate HQ feel vs Mohegan's Indian feel can even be seen in their property maps.
Foxwoods property map, shows how angular everything is, and how little imagination, or artistic license is used:
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Mohegan Sun property map, clearly shows the free-form design used, both architecturally, and in the map design itself:
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Sorry for the bad resolution. click here for the original PDF.
Personally, I think the Foxwoods map should be rotated 180 degrees, since that is the orientation when approaching by car. Mohegan sun needs to be rotated clockwise about 60 degrees to get the correct approach orientation. But because the map is so stylized, I'll let that go.
But there's more. About two years ago, The MGM at Foxwoods expansion opened. It's not indicated at all on the property map. Not even something that says 'This way to MGM at Foxwoods.' Even the website makes little mention of it. Oh, there are links back and forth, but the websites two seem to be for seperate facilites, even though they are under one roof and use the same casino chips. Interestingly, the MGM at Foxwoods website, doesn't offer a property map. Then again, it's just a small casino with a limited number of tables and slots, some retail and restaurants, and convention space which lines the walkway to Foxwoods.
Also, note that on the Foxwoods map, there appears to be four rooms labeled 'Casino'. The Great Cedar and Festival Slots casinos are just slot rooms.
By contrast, there are three casinos at Mohegan Sun. But to the casual observer walking thru the facility, there are only two casinos, on opposite ends of the retail area. Casino of the Wind is the newest addition, and is more like an extension added to the Casino of the Sky. Each casino has design and decor that matches it's name.
Now on to some personal observations from my trip to Mohegan Sun this past weekend.
Hotel rooms and Pool:
The beds were excessivly comfortable. What I mean was, they were SO soft and luxurious, I felt that the lacked support. The pillows were equally soft yet fluffy.
The result was, while I enjoyed laying on the bed, I found it difficult to fall asleep.
I checked my brother's room and his bed and pillows were the same.
The room ammenities were fine. There was a hair dryer, coffee maker, plenty of towels and soaps, etc. It also had a fully stocked honor bar type fridge, but no extra fridge for out own stuff. The only unexpected items were two water bottles next to the ice bucket.
Until last year, I never used the pools at casino resorts before. Seemed to me to be such a waste of limited casino time. But I started a year ago, and kinda enjoy it.
So I used the pool at Mohegan Sun. It's an indoor pool with, as expected, a somewhat unusual shape. I went at 6:15am - trying to get in and out before it got overrun by kids. There was also an outdoor patio area. There was a bar with snack available. There was also a small table with coffee, tea and fixings, complimentary. I thought that was a nice early morning touch.
Then I jumped into the pool. YIKES! It was an indoor pool, but NOT heated! I lasted about 30 seconds before going to the hot tub. I normally don't even bother with the hot tub, but since I was determined to get wet..
While in the tub, I was talking to people who repeated some things I had been hearing for a while: Mohegan Sun beats Foxwoods older facilities, but is neck-and-neck with the new MGM facility. Maybe we'll go there next time.

Foxwoods Or Mohegan Sun Which Is Better

Casino:
Like I mentioned, I didn't plan on writing a review, so I didn't take notes.
I only played craps, poker and a few minutes of BlackJack. At the time I looked, Monday around 10am, $15 BJ was the cheapest I saw. My wife was playing $15 BJ, but grandfathered at $10. Almost every craps table at that time was $5. On Sunday, the craps were all $5 when we got there at 10am, but steadily, all but one rose to $10.
I planned to play Pai Gow Tiles, but when I looked, Sunday around 4pm, the cheapest was $50. Yeah, I know there are a lot of pushes, and the dealer advantage is minor, it was still too much for me. Besides, the Asian gaming section was packed. I don't think I would have gotten a seat.
While walking around the Asian area, I noticed a mini (midi?) Bacarat table that was reserved and empty. It had a sign saying 'Macau Style'. I also saw an empty large / dogbone table that also said 'Macau Style'. I started a thread about this: http://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/general/1917-what-is-macau-style-bacarat/
Restaurants:
We only had Sinday Dinner and Monday Lunch together.
I had some granola bars, so I didn't need lunch on Sunday, but instead got an item that I've had before and love.
Michael Jordan has a small line of restaurants. At Mohegan Sun he has the MJ Steakhouse, and next door the MJ Sports Bar. Even though they use the same kitchen, the menus are different - except the one item I was interested in was on both, but with different names, and 50¢ cheaper at the sports bar. Go figure. I verified that it was the same item before I sat down.
Garlic bread, cut and stacked like Jenga blocks, and drenched in a Bleu Cheese sauce. When I got it Sunday, it wasn't as drenched as I remember, but they brought more sauce when I asked, and it wasn't served hot. Whatever. It was still great.
For dinner, we went to Bobby Flay's Bar Americain (Yeah, that's how it's spelled). It's an upscale place. Entrees were in the $35-$50 range. Side dishes were al carte. They were out of a few menu items. We got one of the last bread baskets that included rolls and cornbread sticks. The cornbread sticks were GREAT. Then they ran out of rolls. How does a restaurant run out of rolls? Our reservation was only 8:20pm. I think the last seating is 10:00! But we were able to get more cornbread sticks, and that's what they served people seated after us. We also felt the food was adequate, but not worth the price.
Monday morning, I had breakfast alone. I wanted something simple and fast, and decided to get something I get all the time. A croisant sandwich at Dunkin Donuts. The DD was on the far side of one casino. The poker room that I would be going to next was on the far side of the other casino. Whatever. I could use the walk. The DD only had donuts and beverages! So it was back to walking, where I ended up at the Chief's Deli - right outside the poker room. Sigh. I had a sausage, egg and cheese on a bagel. Cooked fresh for $5. It was quite good. Another patron recommended I get the potatoes for another $2. Those were rather dissapointing.
Lunch with the gang, we ended up at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana. We ordered a chicken & garlic pizza for $26! I think it was the most expensive pizza we ever ate. But it was quite good, and worth the price. And after 4 of us ate it, there was still some left over.
All in all, we had a great time. And I'm down only about $120. (I still didn't get a financial report from the wife..)

Also, note that on the Foxwoods map, there appears to be four rooms labeled 'Casino'. The Great Cedar and Festival Slots casinos are just slot rooms.

They added table games in the Great Cedar casino about a year ago. I have to give them credit for actually replacing slots with tables; at most casinos, the opposite happens.

They added table games in the Great Cedar casino about a year ago. I have to give them credit for actually replacing slots with tables; at most casinos, the opposite happens.

Really? When I was there in November, staying for the first time in the Great Cedar hotel, there was no mention of it. I would have had to walk thru what I thought was a slot room to find out.
In fact, I DO recall mentioning at one table I was at how Foxwoods casinos are too far apart. It's one of the nice things about AC. Get up and change scenery real quickly and easily. You'd think that the dealer would have overheard my comment and mention the change..
I'll check it out if we do end up there on 7/4.

Really? When I was there in November, staying for the first time in the Great Cedar hotel, there was no mention of it. I would have had to walk thru what I thought was a slot room to find out.
In fact, I DO recall mentioning at one table I was at how Foxwoods casinos are too far apart. It's one of the nice things about AC. Get up and change scenery real quickly and easily. You'd think that the dealer would have overheard my comment and mention the change..
I'll check it out if we do end up there on 7/4.

They're just inside the entrance/exit on the 'Rainmaker Trail' side; if you enter from one of the other entrances, it would be easy to mistake the entire area as slots-only, especially considering that it used to be.

They're just inside the entrance/exit on the 'Rainmaker Trail' side; if you enter from one of the other entrances, it would be easy to mistake the entire area as slots-only, especially considering that it used to be.

That kinda explains it.
We were there because the wife won an entry in the WPT. Included was the hotel room in Great Cedar. Our room was only on the 3rd floor, but near the Rainmaker end, so it was easier for me to just walk to the end of the hall, then down the emergency exit to get to the casino and poker room. I'd then exit out of the poker room, cross the driveways to the Great Cedar lobby and banquet area where the tournament was.

Mohegan Vs Foxwoods

So in 5 days, I think I only passed that way once or twice, and, apparently, didn't turn my head far enough to see it.
But I took a closer look at the Foxwoods property map, and paid attention to the icon key, to come to the conclusion that Foxwoods is even more f-ed up than I had previously thought!
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The Grand Pequot Casino, which always had table games and slots, only shows the Keno icon. To their credit, that IS where they pull the Keno numbers.
The Festival Slots Casino, which always was nothing but slots, has none of these icons.
The Great Cedar Casino, only has the slots icon, leading someone like me that might bother to check, to believe that they still only have slots!

What's Better Mohegan Or Foxwoods

Only the Rainmaker Casino is shown correctly with both the slots and table games icons.
Maybe that's why MGM at Foxwoods isn't included on the map. They can't find anyone who can update it correctly!

Mohegan Sun Blackjack Tables

Best Blackjack At Foxwoods Or Mohegan Sun Better