WNBA franchise hopes casino will help lure fans

Donna Tommelleo

Wednesday, May 28, 2003 | 9:34 a.m.

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Basketball fan Toni Cietanno sat on a sculpted marble bench outside the arena, watching players from the WNBA's newest franchise arrive for their final preseason game.

A few paces away was the entrance to the Mohegan Sun's casino, with 6,200 flashing, jangling slot machines and 300 table games. About 30,000 people pass through those doors each day, and the WNBA is hoping women's basketball fans will be among them.

"This will definitely bring me out here more," said Cietanno, a 42-year-old child counselor who occasionally makes the 45-minute drive from her New Haven home to gamble at the casino.

The Connecticut Sun opened its season Saturday at the casino's 10,000-seat arena, playing against the two-time defending champ Los Angeles Sparks.

Sporting events at casinos aren't new -- boxing has been a big attraction for decades. A minor league hockey team will play this year at a Las Vegas casino, and the Mohegan Sun is also home to an arena football developmental team.

When the Mohegan Indian tribe bought the former Orlando Miracle for a reported $10 million in January, it became the league's first independent owner and first to host a team in a casino.

The WNBA allows the casino to own a team because there is no sports betting there. WNBA commissioner Val Ackerman said the Mohegan Sun agreed to abide by league rules that prohibit cross-promotion of gambling and the team.

"We've been impressed by the Sun staff's enthusiasm, professionalism and commitment to putting the best product on the floor," she said.

Marvin Steinberg, executive director of the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, said casinos have been evolving into a family draw by offering a variety of youth-oriented programs. He believes women's basketball is just another step in the process.

"It's not a step that I feel good about. The barn door's open," Steinberg said. "The more family oriented events, the more exposure children will have."

During the Sun's final preseason game, the trappings inside the arena were pure basketball: starting lineups, play-by-play, no mention of any gambling promotions or headliners.

There are several entrances to the sprawling complex, and fans with children can enter through the main doors of the 34-story hotel.

Scott and Colleen Smith, of Wakefield, R.I., brought their two daughters to the game.

"We were happy because it's close, closer than any team's ever been to us," Colleen Smith said.

The Sun features two local favorites, former UConn players Nykesha Sales and Rebecca Lobo. They drew the largest ovations during the exhibition game against the Houston Comets.

But in the end it was WNBA All-Star Sheryl Swoopes who deserved the applause, scoring 24 points to lead the Comets to a 79-72 win before a crowd of 2,100.

Like all visiting teams, the Comets stayed in the casino's luxury hotel. Swoopes said she would have no qualms about bringing 5-year-old son Jordan to the casino during the team's next visit.

"Your kids aren't going to play at the casino, so there's no problem," Swoopes said. "I don't think it's a huge issue at all, as long as the parents know where the kids should and should not be."

Patty Leone-Tincher, who tries her luck a few times a month at the casino, promised her 9-year-old son she would bring him to a game this summer.

"You can take your kids to the game without exposing them if you feel so strongly about gambling," she said. "But the game is here and if you enjoy basketball then you should come."