Pennsylvania's very first slots casino opens in greater Wilkes-Barre; be among the first to get your pockets picked here.......
11/11/2006
Mohegan Sun debut hits Triple 7
BY TIM GULLA
STAFF WRITER
PLAINS TWP. — The opening of the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs on Friday night was supposed to be just a test, a mere prelude to Tuesday’s real grand opening to the general public.
But to the Mohegan Sun, members of the Mohegan Tribe, 465 newly employed workers, about 1,000 invited guests and the politicians who touted legalized gambling as a means to many ends, the first dollars placed in Pennsylvania slot machines were monumental in scope.
“This is a great event, not only for this community but the whole region,” said Dr. Michael MacDowell, president of College Misericordia. “The economic stimulus from this is going to be wonderful.”
The first customers of a Pennsylvania casino were greeted with a vastly remodeled facility, as the Mohegans left no stones unturned in the $70 million transformation of the former Pocono Downs harness racing track into a luxurious home for 1,083 slot and video poker machines. Marble floors, brightly colored carpeting, and finely crafted woodwork surround walls of video screens and rows upon rows of slots like “Wheel of Fortune” and “Triple 7.”
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs President Robert Soper described the decor as a “little taste” of what’s in store for a much larger slots casino and entertainment complex set for construction sometime next spring.
Before the night ended, the event was being hailed as a success.
“Everything’s going well,” spokesman Jim Wise said just a few hours before the night ended. “There have been no major issues at all that we’ve seen so far.”
While many viewed the opening as the beginning of a new era in Pennsylvania and Luzerne County, Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum saw the opening as a promise kept and a duty performed.
The Great Chief Uncas of the Mohegan Tribe had commanded that the tribe should always plan for 13 generations in the future. Bozsum, a member of the tribe who serves as chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, is 13 generations removed from Uncas and it’s his generation’s time to do the planning.
“This is another way to ensure we’ll be around for another 13 generations,” he said.
The Mohegans, who own and operate one of the world’s largest gambling facilities at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Hotel in Uncasville, Conn., are not only the first casino operators to open in Pennsylvania, they are also the first American Indian tribe to venture off their reservation with a commercial gambling establishment.
The opening was long time coming for the tribe, since it bought the facility at the beginning of 2005 and began construction on the temporary slots casino in September 2005. At one point, the tribe even hinted at the possibility of a pull-out in a dispute over the levels of taxation.
“We were eager to get it going as soon as possible,” said Mitchell Grossinger Etess, chief executive of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority.
“Sometimes, good things take a little more work to achieve,” Soper said.
Test nights were being held Friday, and again on Sunday, to ensure that all of the computer systems and a real-time accounting system were working appropriately. Strict requirements by state gaming regulators called for one guest per slot machine for Friday’s test.
Because all of the after-tax profits from the test nights are being given to the United Way of Wyoming Valley, the local charity was placed in charge of the guest list. Because tickets were limited, the United Way said it had little choice but to limit the list to major corporate sponsors, large donors and volunteers.
Because financial figures from the first test night were not available before press time, it was unclear how much money was raised for the United Way. Friday’s proceeds were going to a very specific cause, since the funds will be set aside for a new program jointly formed by the Mohegans and United Way aimed at helping problem gamblers.
“This money will be the seed money to create that program,” Soper said.
The proceeds from Sunday’s event will benefit all United Way causes.
Ray Angeli, the president of Lackawanna College who serves as a member of the state Gaming Control Board, said he was impressed with the operations and all of the work that went into making Friday’s test possible. Angeli has the authority to decide after the two test nights
whether the casino is ready to open to the general public on Tuesday. He’s been on site for about two weeks now, monitoring the progress. “The place looks great,” he said. “They’ve done some really hard work.”
Far from just fun, games, and a lavish spread of food created by visiting executive chefs from the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, gaming regulators had a set schedule of tasks to perform Friday night. Angeli said the regulators would be monitoring all aspects of casino operations, from the operation of the computer systems to the flow of money on the casino floor, and would be holding hourly meetings to assess how the night was going.
The Mohegan Sun had almost every employee working Friday, even though the gaming would last only six hours, because regulators also were examining how the casino workers changed shifts and passed responsibilities.
To casino guests, though, the work by regulators was mostly unseen.
“I’m elated,” state Sen. Robert Mellow, D-Peckville, the Senate minority leader who was a strong backer of slots in the state. “I think the opening tonight is a legacy for Gov. Rendell and it’s precedent setting. This is the first one to open. Tonight will never reoccur in Pennsylvania.”
Despite being a strong proponent of gaming, which will be used to reduce property taxes, Mellow joked that he’s not much of a gambler. He doesn’t mind spending money on a new suit but does mind losing it in a game a chance. But he came prepared, nonetheless.
“I probably will recycle a $100 bill,” he said as he walked inside.