Mohegans unveil $800 million expansion to casino complex

Thursday, Feb. 17, 2000 | 8:48 a.m.

The project includes a 1,200-room high-rise hotel visible from Long Island Sound and 115,000 square feet of gaming space. Its centerpiece will be a six-story alabaster tower with a cocktail lounge and a planetarium which will project the heavens on the ceiling.

"This is a very exciting day for us," said Maynard Strickland, a member of the Tribal Council, who attended Wednesday's announcement of the plan in New York City. "It's putting Uncasville on the map."

The development is expected to bring 4,000 jobs to the region and increase the Mohegan Sun's stature as a rival to the larger and older Foxwoods Resort Casino, operated by the neighboring Mashantucket Pequots.

The construction is already under way and is expected to be completed by the spring of 2002, said Mitchell Etess, executive vice president of marketing for Mohegan Sun.

The $325 million Mohegan Sun opened in October 1996. But it was built without a hotel and that affected the amount of time people could stay at the casino, Etess said.

"The hotel's going to create a whole new business for us in the meeting and convention business," he said.

The project will be paid with $360 million worth of high-yield bonds and a loan from Bank of America.

Also included in the plans are 100,000 square feet of convention space, a 40,000-square-foot ballroom, a 175,000-square-foot retail complex offering brand-name merchandise and a 10,000-seat arena.

Inside, crystals and multicolored beads will reflect light around the new casino, said David Rockwell, an architect with Rockwellgroup who is helping design the casino.

The Mohegans' casino will still be smaller than the Mashantucket's Foxwoods Resort Casino, which opened in 1992. The Mohegan Sun has 280,000 square feet of gambling space, compared with 315,310 square feet at Foxwoods. The new hotel will have 1,200 rooms, while the grand hotel at Foxwoods has 1,416.

Bob DeSalvio, a vice president of marketing at Foxwoods Resort Casino, said the Mashantuckets wish their neighbors well.

"We're firm believers that the project that they're putting forth is actually very good for the region," DeSalvio said.