News

July 18, 2008

New place in the Sun

Several hundred eager patrons roll into newly expanded gambling, dining complex for opening.

By Ron Bartizek rbartizek@timesleader.com
Business & Consumer / City Editor

PLAINS TWP. – Beth Verazin’s assessment was exactly what the operator of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs wants to hear.

“It’s awesome; better than the Borgata,” Verazin said while eating lunch at Bar Louie, one of the new high-end eating places in the casino that opened at 10 a.m. Thursday. “We will not have to go to Atlantic City any more.”

Verazin and her husband, Mike, of Nanticoke, planned to spend most of the day in the casino, alternating their time between the slot machines and restaurants.

“That’s what it’s all about,” said Downs marketing vice president Jim Wise about the new 300,000-square-foot complex designed to attract non-gamblers as well as slots devotees.

Several hundred eager patrons ringed the casino entrance to watch a pre-opening ceremony that featured a traditional Mohegan Tribe ritual, brief public statements and a parachute jump by members of the world champion United States Parachute Team.

In their speeches, both Downs chief executive Bobby Soper and Bruce Bozsum, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council, emphasized interior design elements that “not only reflect but celebrate local values.”

With tribal elder William Andrews playing a wooden flute in the background, Bozsum performed a traditional smudge pot ceremony that included a prayer in both native and English languages. Then, as a color guard from the 109th Field Artillery marched past the podium, Soper said the words the crowd had been waiting to hear – “Let the games begin” – which drew a big cheer before the people streamed inside.

While most of the customers headed to the 2,200 slots, it took only 20 minutes for a line to form at a coffee shop in the casino’s food court, and within an hour, there was a longer queue waiting to get into the Timbers Buffet, where a full lunch is priced at $10.99.

Soper said competitive pricing is another way the casino is geared to the local market.

“We wanted to create value,” he said, “and we did not compromise on quality one bit.”

Fine dining restaurants also attracted a crowd, with the Rustic Kitchen logging 30 reservations before noon.

Rustic Kitchen, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Bar Louie and all five restaurants in the food court are vendors who rent space. The casino owns the buffet, two bars and a sushi bar. The mix of eating places was developed from requests by patrons at the temporary casino that opened 19 months ago.

“We listened to what our guests wanted,” Soper said, and that included both affordable and high-end dining.

“It’s not only a gaming story today, it’s been a fabulous day for all the restaurants,” Wise said, speaking by phone at 6 p.m.

Even with a weekday opening that was designed to give the staff a chance to work out service bugs, overall, “it’s business this afternoon and evening that would be an extremely busy weekend night,” Wise said.

Firm figures on the day’s business were not yet available.

Before the opening, Mitchell Etess, chief executive of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which has operated the Mohegan Sun casino on tribal land in Connecticut since 1996, said the Downs facility “establishes us as a full-fledged, multi-jurisdictional gaming company.”

In addition to the casinos in Plains and Connecticut, the Mohegans have alliances with other tribes to build or manage gambling halls in Wisconsin and Washington state. The tribe also has an agreement to develop a state-owned gambling resort in Kansas and is a partner in a plan to develop a gambling, retail and hotel facility at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York.

“We think this is a prototype we can export to our other ventures,” Etess said.

About 350 slots, including electronic table games, remain in the interim casino, which is connected to the permanent casino by an enclosed walkway. A buffet there has been closed and is being renovated into a private function room.

To see additional photos and video, visit www.

timesleader .com

INSIDE •For an illustration of new slot machines, 14A

•Area residents flock to the casino, 14A

•Get a little wine with your cheese, 1C

Ron Bartizek, Times Leader business editor, may be reached at 970-7157.

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