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Thread: Mohegan Sun

  1. #1
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Mohegan Sun

    I see Ambrosia played there earlier this month. Hmm - what's this place like? Fun? For families? Or is it gross?

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    Member Lopez's Avatar
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    The usual Indian casino. Long malls of vastly overpriced shops, restaurants, and large casino rooms. I think they have a kids arcade with games that award tickets towards prizes. Never saw a show there, though. Must admit that the place is very attractive and fun to at least walk around in.
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  3. #3
    The large concert hall has an arena feel to it. Lots of cold concrete and marginally acceptable flip down seats. Food is decent. IMO not a place to hang with the kids for the day , but fine for a dinner and show.
    The slots are not friendly, the table ambiance lacks compared to better and bigger casinos.

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    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Never been to a Native American casino. Went to Vegas (Circus Circus) once circa 1981, that's it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Never been to a Native American casino. Went to Vegas (Circus Circus) once circa 1981, that's it.
    I don’t live anywhere near Connecticut, but have actually been to Mohegan Sun once. We were visiting friends in the area who used to live there and spent a couple of nights at the casino. I actually thought it was really nice. Our rooms were great, up in the tower overlooking the river. The casino is huge and had every kind of game you could want along with a horse racing book which is unusual outside of Vegas. I thought the places we ate at were decent (I remember a BBQ place, but not the name). We did not see any concerts there, but if I remember right they have 3 venues. A big arena, a middle size theater, and a club called The Wolves Den (or something like that). Our friends who used to live in the area used to go to free shows at The Wolves Den quite a bit and they had a lot of pretty big names.

    Regarding Native American casinos , here in Michigan they are all Native American owned and operated. They vary in size and quality.

  6. #6
    There's another place within Mohegan Sun called THE WOLF DEN where they have free concerts. It's a medium sized bar type room in the middle of a big casino room. I saw John Payne's Asia there a few years back and also The Outfield about 12 years ago.
    The only drawback is that it's very smoky and may be too much for the non-smoker.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    I see Ambrosia played there earlier this month. Hmm - what's this place like? Fun? For families? Or is it gross?
    I was at this particular show. They perform at the Wolf Den (as did I), at least once a year. The Mohegan is a great place. As any other casino, they truly are adult playgrounds, but, this one tends to be somewhat family friendly. There is a kid's area for games, plenty of restaurants, a music/toy/shirt/memorabilia store know as Spin Street, along with plenty of other shops. Smoke areas are designated and duly noted. The Mohegan is anything but gross.

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  8. #8
    I saw a couple of shows there. Good views. Good sound. Good place to see a show.

  9. #9
    Member BrianG's Avatar
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    I live within 50 miles of the place and have seen many shows there. The Wolf's Den has been revamped recently. Tables were removed. All theatre seating now. Much better. The Arena has really big shows like Santana, Fleetwood Mac, etc. It is as expensive as any other place for a top drawing shows.
    It depends what you mean by "family". I would not leave any kids under 14 at the kid's area, although many do, for hours and hours. Otherwise, I've had a great time there with my older kids, and I never pulled a slot lever once.
    15 miles east is Foxwoods. Similar in style, though bigger, with a smaller concert venue.
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  10. #10
    I went there for the first time this spring for a friday night.

    It's kind of the Hot Rats of casinos - which is to say, it's a casino for people who don't normally like casinos. It was super-clean, not that crowded even on a Friday, an upscale rustic decor (I would describe it roughly as one part Rivendell, two parts ski lodge). There is a ton of parking, it's easy to get to, and it exists as a single entity, sequestered from everything else like an amusement park. It had all the edge of a Dave and Busters. There is no smoking. Last call is 1:45, (that's CT, not the casino, but you'd think that maybe an Indian casino could get an exemption) which clears a lot of people out pretty early. Not a hooker in sight. No interesting people-watching at all, really. Slots are pretty tight. Family friendly? Sure - as family friendly as the mall. If Mormons were to ever make a casino, Mohegan Sun would be the template.

    I have no plans to ever go back. As a casino experience I found it pretty lame and it's too far for me to want to travel to see a band - not with so many bands playing every night right in my backyard.

    But for someone who is going to travel there for the purpose of seeing a band, I would have to think that it would be a perfectly fine, comfortable enjoyable experience. Two tips: 1) unless money is no object, stay at one of the several hotels within a short drive from the casino (and by short I really mean like five minutes or less), and 2) bring your own booze for after last call.
    Last edited by Facelift; 09-29-2015 at 07:47 PM.

  11. #11
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BrianG View Post
    I would not leave any kids under 14 at the kid's area, although many do, for hours and hours.
    That's pretty scary.

    Quote Originally Posted by Facelift View Post
    I went there for the first time this spring for a friday night.

    It's kind of the Hot Rats of casinos - which is to say, it's a casino for people who don't normally like casinos. It was super-clean, not that crowded even on a Friday, an upscale rustic decor (I would describe it roughly as one part Rivendell, two parts ski lodge). There is a ton of parking, it's easy to get to, and it exists as a single entity, sequestered from everything else like an amusement park. It had all the edge of a Dave and Busters. There is no smoking. Last call is 1:45, (that's CT, not the casino, but you'd think that maybe an Indian casino could get an exemption) which clears a lot of people out pretty early. Not a hooker in sight. No interesting people-watching at all, really. Slots are pretty tight. Family friendly? Sure - as family friendly as the mall. If Mormons were to ever make a casino, Mohegan Sun would be the template.

    I have no plans to ever go back. As a casino experience I found it pretty lame and it's too far for me to want to travel to see a band - not with so many bands playing every night right in my backyard.

    But for someone who is going to travel there for the purpose of seeing a band, I would have to think that it would be a perfectly fine, comfortable enjoyable experience. Two tips: 1) unless money is no object, stay at one of the several hotels within a short drive from the casino (and by short I really mean like five minutes or less), and 2) bring your own booze for after last call.
    I actually sort of had this confused with Foxwoods, but it's six of one, half dozen of the other since I've never really been to a casino. I was only really asking because of the concert aspect. I actually am totally against the idea of casinos, because I think they exist to take advantage of people in the worst way. I'm sure people can manage to have fun, and I can see that native Americans deserve some slack when it comes to making a living since, but I approach the whole idea with trepidation. If a band like Tull was playing one of these places I'd consider it, since Tull (Ian Anderson) has stopped playing in NYC.

  12. #12
    Member BrianG's Avatar
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    Jethro Tull has played at Mohegan three times since 2003, if the nice folks at http://www.ministry-of-information.co.uk/setlist/ are to be relied upon. I never got to those shows, unfortunately. Yes also plays Mohegan on almost every tour.
    I think since the venues are very easy for big shows to physically get into and out of (unlike NYC), with minimal labor rules (unlike NYC), a very nice stage, good experience filling seats, and a very competent marketing machine. This means good income for big shows. When booking a fairly big name show like JT, those issues can determine whether the tour makes money or not.
    As far as the ethics of a casino go, I agree with you thoroughly. To see little ladies betting their social security checks on the slots makes me despise all casinos. But as with liquor stores, porn shops, gun dealers (IMO), and now marijuana shops, freedom and opportunity come with responsibility. One must use the opportunity wisely, without giving in to an addiction. The skill is to enjoy the music while overcoming the retch feeling of watching others lose their money.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Myried View Post
    I was at this particular show. They perform at the Wolf Den (as did I), at least once a year. The Mohegan is a great place. As any other casino, they truly are adult playgrounds, but, this one tends to be somewhat family friendly. There is a kid's area for games, plenty of restaurants, a music/toy/shirt/memorabilia store know as Spin Street, along with plenty of other shops. Smoke areas are designated and duly noted. The Mohegan is anything but gross.
    Ed, you were at the Ambrosia show? I was there too, but didn't see you. I was sitting almost behind the stage in the folded chairs on the male keyboardist's side.

    Anyway, like Ed said, there is nothing gross about Mohegan Sun. But if you are planning to see a free show at the Wolf Den, be sure to get there early and join the line, because there are very limited seats these days for "common folk," the non-high rollers and non-Tribe members. Nowadays, they reserve a large portion of the seats for the high rollers who someone get on the reservations list for a free show and they have priority. For the Ambrosia show, maybe 50 people were let in before the folks with reservations, and then those online had to wait til about 10 minutes into the show before management decided that no more Tribe members would be attending the show. I was there the night before for Blues Traveler and didn't get in.

    When I used to see shows at the Wolf Den around 10 years ago with Myried, it wasn't that way. There were plenty of seats for us regular folk.

    I was lucky to get into the Ambrosia show. I went to the back of the line (where I wouldn't have made it in) but Mrs. Paythesnuka was able to sneak into the front of the line to get us seats inside!
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    Quote Originally Posted by paythesnuka View Post
    Nowadays, they reserve a large portion of the seats for the high rollers who someone get on the reservations list for a free show and they have priority.
    I remember seeing Peter Gabriel at Mohegan on the 'Growing Up' tour of 2002. All seats were good since the stage was in the middle of the floor. Blind Boys of Alabama were one of the openers, with an African group being the other; Peter was walking around watching them perform.

    But the strangest part was the crowd! I am sure that a number of high-rollers and their familys were given free tickets. I saw a group of older Asian women in ballgowns and gloves; people in cowboy gear; older couples in suits and dresses, etc.

    I saw him again a few years ago at Mohegan; had floor seats. Nice sized arena; pictures were out on Tony Levin's site
    Last edited by bigbassdrum; 10-06-2015 at 04:16 PM.
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    Member paythesnuka's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bigbassdrum View Post
    I remember seeing Peter Gabriel at Mohegan on the 'Growing Up' tour of 2002. All seats were good since the stage was in the middle of the floor. Blind Boys of Alabama were one of the openers, with an African group being the other; Peter was walking around watching them perform.

    But the strangest part was the crowd! I am sure that a number of high-rollers and their familys were given free tickets. I saw a group of older Asian women in ballgowns and gloves; people in cowboy gear; older couples in suits and dresses, etc.

    I saw him again a few years ago at Mohegan; had floor seats. Nice sized arena; pictures were out on Tony Levin's site
    Yeah, I am a "medium-sized roller" at both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun and I'm offered two free tickets to pretty much any show at the two big venues at either place.

    Of course, I wasn't offered free tickets for the only show I made a special trip to Foxwoods to see - Hall and Oates this past August.

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  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by paythesnuka View Post
    Ed, you were at the Ambrosia show? I was there too, but didn't see you. I was sitting almost behind the stage in the folded chairs on the male keyboardist's side.
    Yes, Adam, I was at this show - stage right (to the right of Burleigh Drummond, the drummer, and his wife, keyboardist Mary Harris) - in a corner booth. If I would have known both you and your other half were there, you could have sat in comfort with Cheryl and I. Oh well.

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    Quote Originally Posted by bigbassdrum View Post
    But the strangest part was the crowd! I am sure that a number of high-rollers and their familys were given free tickets. I saw a group of older Asian women in ballgowns and gloves; people in cowboy gear; older couples in suits and dresses, etc.
    This is one of the downsides of casino shows. Often the people with the best seats are not people who are necessarily into the band. When I saw Extreme last fall at our local casino there were a group of people sitting in front of us who were all comped. They had no clue who they were coming to see other than “More Than Words”. They hung in there through the whole show, but there were quite a few folks in the close up rows that left long before the show was over.

    On the other hand I am a card member at this casino and though far from a high roller they do sometimes offer ticket pre-sales to members before they go on sale to the general public so I have been able to score some decent seats that way. Never had fully comped seats though……

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