Where are you parked?

For the first time this summer, I had someone ask me where I was parked while walking to my car on the packed fifth floor of Mohegan Sun's Riverview Garage this evening so they could pull into my spot once I left.

Seems like a good sign, at least for a night when both Kansas and the Connecticut Sun were playing.

Casino roundup

Try as I might, I just can't write about everything, so here's a little bit of what's going on in the casino world today:

There's one fewer competitor against the Mohegan tribe to build a casino in Wyandotte County, Kan., but its not for fear of competition, Sands execs say, rather than partial concern of the viability of the market with pending changes in neighboring Missouri:

Here's what the Las Vegas Review-Journal has to say about it:

Las Vegas Sands Corp. on Wednesday scuttled plans for a $500 million casino complex near Kansas City, Kan., blaming the worsening credit markets and the potential that neighboring Missouri might soften its in-state gambling restrictions.

The company was competing for a single gaming license in Wyandotte County, Kan., and the move seemingly increased the prospects for Las Vegas-based Golden Gaming, which is seeking approval from the Kansas Lottery Commission to build a $662 million casino complex at a location in the Wyandotte County town of Edwardsville.

Mohegan Sun is leaving the fireworks to Mother Nature tonight

Turns out the forecast doesn't mix well with fireworks so tonight's regularly scheduled bang, boom, zoom fest has been postponed.

Mohegan Sun regrets to announce that the "Wild Wednesdays" festivities that were scheduled for tonight on the rooftop of the Riverview Garage have been canceled due to inclement weather. All scheduled events will now take place on Thursday, July 24th, starting at 5:00pm.

Now that's just plain silly

So, with another construction season about halfway done, hope of breaking ground on a casino — any casino, whether Foxwoods or Sugarhouse — in Philadelphia is once again dimmed by proposals by local and state politicians as well as opposition from neighborhood groups.

And it appears local pundits have gone off the deep end...

New Casino Solution: Move Them Underwater
July 15, 2008 – State officials yesterday offered a bold solution to the increasingly contentious casino-re-siting debate: submerge the planned SugarHouse and Foxwoods casinos beneath the Delaware River. "It seems to me that putting the casinos underwater would satisfy all parties," said Rep. Dwight Evans, speaking to reporters on Penn's Landing. "Foxwoods and SugarHouse would get to stay on the waterfront–and Philadelphia wouldn't have to look at them."

For those of you interested in Indian affiars

Turns out Canada also has a legacy of sending Indian children away from their home communities.

Check out the "Truth and Reconciliation" series from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about First Nation children and residential schools. At best, it meant they were separated from their family and friends. At worst, it delivered them directly into harm's way.

Here's a in-depth look from at the Canadian situation, including apologies made as recently as June for the program that parted children and their parents up until the last school closed in 1996.

While I'm not sure if any of the children of Connecticut's tribes ended up in at the Carlisle school, both the Mashantucket Pequots and the Mohegans have a very generous education benefit for tribal members of any age who want to attend school.

Hey, I can expand, too

Not in the too-much-Johnny Rocket's or Junior's Cheesecake way but, if Connecticut's casinos can add on some real estate, so can I here at the casino blog.

In the next couple of weeks, I'll be adding information about books on our casinos and tribes, links on where you can find historical slot machine revenue for Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun as well as basic information about the casinos and photo galleries.

Oh, and if you've got requests for other stuff you'd like to see on the site, ship 'em along. I aim to please.

There's more to life than casinos

But, in my case, not much more than cars. Sort of. Anyhow, I've noticed this trend of corraling cars on dealer lots behind chain link fences during sales. I was driving to the Mashantucket Pequot museum earlier today for an assignment when I saw the latest wholesale roundup and imprisonment of vehicles. As if they might drive off on their own....

By the way, if you haven't gone to see the Race exhibit at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center, it is pretty interesting. Toward the end, there are several panels with information about the Carlisle School in Pennsylvania where American Indian children were sent to be "civilized," how some New Englanders formed fraternal organizations to keep the memory of the American Indians alive and how actual American Indians, including Mohegan Medicine Woman Gladys Tantaquidgeon, tried to keep their tribes alive during the last century.

Slotted out?

There's long been a question of just how much demand there is in the New England gambling market. When Foxwoods Resort Casino opened, there was nothing like it until Atlantic City, N.J., and it added slot machines by the hundreds through the years.

Mohegan Sun came along and now, almost 17 years later, the landscape is very, very different. There's a beefed up racino with 4,750 machines sitting at Twin River racino in Lincoln, R.I., and 5,300 machines at Empire City Casino in Yonkers, N.Y.

Of course, any casino expansion is going to add slot machines — they're the engines that will help pay for the construction. But, with almost 6,000 machines at Mohegan (and 800 more or so due next month) and another 8,100 at Foxwoods, it cannot come as a complete surprise that play is down in Connecticut. Credit analysts expect the market eventually will sop up the additional number of machines brought in by expansions, but the economy has allowed for that just yet.

An interesting market to watch will be northeast Pennsylvania, though. Mohegan Sun opened their $208 million Project Sunrise expansion just outside of Wilkes-Barre on Thursday and President Bobby Soper has long said the old facility's 1,200 slot machines could barely keep up with demand on weekends. Whether 2,600 slots will be too many or just enough in that area remains to be seen.

Parking space economics

Now, I'm no economist. I spent precious little time with math in college after overdosing on the subject in high school. But, considering what analysts are saying about the Mashantucket Pequots' financial situation and the shaky economy in general (money just doesn't stick around like it used to, you know?), here are some signs I see at the casinos of things being off from last year:

* I haven't waited for a stall in the women's room in months.
* There are just too many good parking spots near the elevator lobbies.
* Open Sic Bo tables in Asian gaming areas — these are usually hot spots of gamblers using their bus-tour vouchers before it is time to leave. I used to see players two and three deep tossing their bets over the heads of others.
* There were actually half-penny slot machines sitting vacant at Mohegan Sun.
* And, yes, it looks like even the lines for the buffets are off a little.

What have you noticed on recent trips to the casinos? Drop me a line below or at ejacobson@norwichbulletin.com

Don't go changing...

So everything changes, right? Entropy never wins in the long run.
The look of the paper changed this morning with some interesting results.
The crowds previously clogging the MGM Grand walkways were definitely missing yesterday afternoon as I stopped by to chat with folks playing the slots.
And, while a lot of gamblers don't have much to say when they are playing, I got an earful from Bob McGlothin. The Milford, Mass., guy made it into my story today about the slot revenue slide resuming and other financial news...but he also had a lot more to say.

Casinos: Slots slide hits hard

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Tali Greener/ NorwichBulletin.com

Marie Taylor of Braintree, Mass., plays a slot machine Tuesday at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods.

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By ERICA JACOBSON

Norwich Bulletin

Posted Jul 16, 2008 @ 02:00 AM

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ejacobson@norwichbulletin.com
(860) 425-4241

After a single-month reprieve in May, the slot machine revenue slide resumed last month at Connecticut’s casinos as gamblers kept a tight rein on slot spending in June, according to numbers released Tuesday.

Well, it turns out McGlothin is no big fan of the new points system at the casinos, either. He said he's a Sachem-level slots player member at Mohegan Sun and estimates it now takes about $90 of play to earn $1 in rewards, which equals all kinds of uncool in his world. His argument was that, combined with what he and others he has talked to perceive as tighter slots, his trips are less fruitful — a strategy he questioned as a casino customer who brings thousands, not hundreds, of dollars along on each trip.

What do you guys think of the new player programs? I would love to hear some feedback from the folks who use it most.

Also, here's a really interesting blog by an out-of-state poker player on the economics of getting to Connecticut's casinos these days. He actually breaks down different scenarios and what would make the most financial sense for him.

Yankee Trails will get me there and back, but I would not have a certain place to stay, so I guess if I want to make an overnight trip, I'll book some of the mailed promos (still at $69) and then try for the bus. Even though the bus would cost me $52, it is a good deal as I get coupons for both days, so I eat two $15 buffets and have $40 in free keno bets. All that for about what it would cost me in gas/tolls to drive there and back. But if I drove I could find a cheap $40 motel.

It IS the economy, stupid

Well. Call me senorita drool cup. Or a fortuneteller. Or the "math is hard" Barbie from the '80s. Or just juggling too many weeks out on my schedule, but the real news is Mohegan Sun slot revenues are down almost 9 percent this June compared to the same month in June 2007.

So, it appears the slide is back on at one of Connecticut's casinos. (A Foxwoods Resort Casino spokeswoman hopes to have their numbers out by about noon.)

What do you think about this news? Beginning of the end? Bottom of a bad economy? Drop a vote in my latest poll....

Breaking News

Mohegan Sun slot revenue down almost 9 percent in June

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By ERICA JACOBSON

Norwich Bulletin

Posted Jul 15, 2008 @ 10:42 AM

Last update Jul 15, 2008 @ 11:35 AM

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Mohegan, Conn. —

Slot revenue at Mohegan Sun dropped more than $6.7 million — almost 9 percent — from $74.5 million in June 2007 to $67.8 million last month, according to numbers released this morning by the casino.

Players pumped $804.7 million through the casino's almost 6,000 machines in June compared to $860.8 million played by visitors during June 2007. The state will get almost $17 million from Junes Mohegan Sun revenues compared to $18.6 million in June 2007.

Slot revenue numbers from Foxwoods Resort Casino have yet to be released.

So, a confession

I eat to live, not live to eat. This is not to say I can't appreciate an incredible meal whipped up by a friend or crank out a fairly fantastic pumpkin cheesecake or chocolate mousse myself, I just never caught on to that whole "foodie" craze of spending hours in the kitchen working on the perfect curry or spending a good portion of a paycheck on a meal.

But I'm always interested to hear what others think of the dining at Connecticut's casinos so I'll occasionally post some blogs I find about visitors' culinary experiences, good and bad.

Here's what one recent visitor thought of MGM Grand's Craftsteak:

I talked myself into ordering the $52 grass-fed Ohio ribeye; how often do I get to eat grass fed beef? Conferring briefly with the server, she recommended I go medium rare rather than my usual rare. “Grass-fed beef marbles differently than corn fed,” she explained. “You’ll want to let it cook longer to unlock the flavors.” After the appetizers, the beef arrived, with sizzling char lines on the outside, pre-cut into strips in its own serving pan. I forked one out, hands shaking with adrenaline, and took my first bite.

To read the rest, click here.

Your comments on the MGM Grand

So, from the comments posted here, it looks like folks are mixed at best about the MGM Grand at Foxwoods. The out-of-towners I've taken through the facility have remarked on a couple of things:

1. Small. "Is this it?" seemed like the most frequent question I've heard.
2. Tight. As in walkways. Pals noticed that more than three people abreast on the passageways around the gambling area or on the walkway from Foxwoods and you get a quick roadblock.
3. Bright. My roomie was amazed by the bright glare in the food court area. Compared to much of the rest of the facility where the light is dim and soft, he thought this was downright East German.
4. People watching: Nothing like hanging out for a few hours on a night when Larry the Cable Guy was doing a show at the theater.
5. Cheesecake: Man. It's thick, but the roomie really liked the spongecake crust versus the traditional graham cracker.

That said, looks like Mohegan's Casino on the Wind will be opening in late August. It brings windows onto the Thames River, the return of poker and a departure from the casino's traditional pods off of common walkways theme. Thoughts?

How do you think the expansions will make out in this economy? Do you think they will draw more people to Connecticut's casinos and grow the market? Or do you think they will split a shrinking group of gamblers? Take a vote in the poll....

Not a lot of faith....

Judging by the voting on this week's poll, the majority of folks don't think there's going to be a gathering around the bargaining table between Foxwoods and its dealers.

With the tribe and the casino looking for ways to cut costs, it would be interesting to know just how much this nearly year-long battle against the unions has cost the Mashantucket Pequots and Foxwoods....

In other news, I've been zooming around the region the past few weekends (hey, if gas is going to be gone sooner than later, better make these last trips good, right?) and, is it just me, or are there fewer casino billboards coming north on I-95 than, say, two years ago at this time?

Back then, on a drive from my lovely-lovely digs in the capital of Taxation Without Representation to visit friends in New London, I was bombarded by billboards for musical acts coming to Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods as soon as I was north of New York City. These days, not so much.

How about you? You notice any changes in how the casinos are doing business these days?

D.C. to dealers: Get thee to a bargaining table

Word is the news is spreading through Foxwoods that the roughly 2,600 dealers at the casino have had their election certified and it's time to bargain with their employer....

By ERICA JACOBSON

Norwich Bulletin

Posted Jul 03, 2008 @ 11:05 AM

Last update Jul 03, 2008 @ 12:25 PM

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Mashantucket, Conn. —

About 2,600 table games dealers at Foxwoods Resort Casino can go the bargaining table with their employer, according to a decision released today by the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the National Labor Relations Board.

The two-page decision concluded neither the dealers seeking to organize under the United Auto Workers or the board's regional director in Hartford did anything to warrant setting aside the Nov. 24 election where dealers voted 1,289-852 to form a union. It agreed with the prior rulings of administrative law judge Raymond Green that ballots did not need to be translated into Chinese for Asian workers as well as determined that there was no evidence to show UAW agents "engaged in objectionable list keeping on election day."

"From the agency's standpoint, this is the end of the case for us," Patricia Gilbert, a spokeswoman for board headquarters, said.

Lori Potter, a spokeswoman for the Mashantucket Pequots - Foxwoods' owners, said the tribe would issue a statement later today.

The Mashantuckets have contested the dealers' efforts to unionize for almost a year. They argue applying federal labor law to casino employees would usurp the tribe's sovereign status. After the election was held, the tribe then appealed the election saying, amongst other complaints, the ballots should have been in Chinese to accommodate non-English speaking dealers.