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Checking out Connecticut's new casino hotels

BY MICHAEL J. REILLY | Special to Newsday

September 14, 2008

With local travel the most attractive kind these days, you don't have to go far to be in on the biggest deal in American casino action - it's in southeast Connecticut, just a few hours' drive from the center of the island.

Both Foxwoods - the now-venerable first Connecticut casino dating from 1992 - and Mohegan Sun, just a few miles to the north, are spending close to a billion dollars to expand. Already the two biggest-grossing casinos in the United States, they are putting their winnings back on the table with classy new hotels, lavish mega-spa action and the biggest names in entertainment lined up for fall.

THE MGM GRAND

Long a golden attraction in Las Vegas, the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino is the latest splash at Foxwoods. The Hotel and Casino opened in the spring right next door to the triple hotels and gaming rooms of Foxwoods. While it still showed a few signs of being broken in late August, it's a glittering hit. Gaming floors and restaurants were busy, getting to crowded levels at night.

Modern luxury is the feel in each of the 825 rooms and suites. The avant-garde touches of high-toned Miami and New York hotels that made boutique chain overnights edgy in the '90s are updated and cleverly woven into new rooms at the Grand - think thick rugs, slabs of marble and dreamy beds. You'd think they want you to stay up there instead of down on the gaming floors.

For all the swank new surroundings, a few beats were skipped. On arrival it took 20 minutes to get service at the registration desk. Contrasting that understaffing was the situation in the upscale Craftsteak restaurant. An overabundance of servers bustled about, but they ignored guests, rushing around while avoiding eye contact. It was clearly a problem spot. Supervisors with clipboards stood at the walls, obviously watching for gaffes, but not seeming to improve things. The food, on the other hand, was magnificent, of the highest quality and well presented, a tribute to the better-trained kitchen crew.

MOHEGAN SUN

Just a few miles north, Mohegan Sun celebrated Labor Day by opening its third casino, which added 45,000 square feet of gaming space that includes a giant poker room to allow direct competition with Foxwoods' big-poker action. Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville restaurant will open by next month.

Mohegan's next phase of expansion promises a new hotel tower and more shops and restaurants by October 2010. The hotel will bring another big brand to the tables - House of Blues - which will provide membership opportunities, more performance space and more than 200 Blues-themed rooms.

IF YOU GO . . .

A couple likely won't get through two weekend nights at any of the casinos without laying out at least $600 for rooms and food, unless they spend a lot at the tables using club cards. Getting a card is free and if the computer finds you are a big bettor, you can end up with perks that may include cuts in charges. Going with a group can get you other perks.

This fall's big name entertainment lineup runs from Dolly Parton and Robin Williams to Sarah Brightman and The Who - at different locales and not together, of course.

Be aware that smoking is allowed in most parts of the gaming areas, which you must be at least 21 years old to enter, but all the venues are super clean and neat. And from waterfalls to bright lights and hopping nights, excitement is in the air.

The house, of course, will win at the casino, but for fun and entertainment, we end up the winners.