Players Mourn Loss of Mohegan Sun Poker Room
Wednesday, September 3 2003
To the great dismay of its regular card players, Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut has closed its poker room. Casino executives hope to double the amount of gaming profits in the same space from $6 million to $12 million annually by removing the tables to make room for 275 additional slot machines. Poker room regulars, who have often had to wait for a table at Mohegan Sun, could not believe casino executives' statements that there are not enough players in the local market to support card rooms at both Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods in Ledyard. “The tribe, we feel, is being disloyal to their patrons of seven years,” says Arlene Olderman, who has been playing at Mohegan Sun since it opened in 1996. “I understand the bottom line is making money; however, one of their values is to be customer-friendly. This doesn't seem customer friendly.” Foxwoods, which has benefited this year from the publicity generated by its participation in the television broadcasts of the World Poker Finals, is expected to swallow most of Mohegan's poker business. Kathy Raymond, director of poker at Foxwoods, is doing her best to accommodate displaced players into her card room: “Our objective is to make the room as successful as possible.”
Wednesday, September 3 2003
To the great dismay of its regular card players, Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut has closed its poker room. Casino executives hope to double the amount of gaming profits in the same space from $6 million to $12 million annually by removing the tables to make room for 275 additional slot machines. Poker room regulars, who have often had to wait for a table at Mohegan Sun, could not believe casino executives' statements that there are not enough players in the local market to support card rooms at both Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods in Ledyard. “The tribe, we feel, is being disloyal to their patrons of seven years,” says Arlene Olderman, who has been playing at Mohegan Sun since it opened in 1996. “I understand the bottom line is making money; however, one of their values is to be customer-friendly. This doesn't seem customer friendly.” Foxwoods, which has benefited this year from the publicity generated by its participation in the television broadcasts of the World Poker Finals, is expected to swallow most of Mohegan's poker business. Kathy Raymond, director of poker at Foxwoods, is doing her best to accommodate displaced players into her card room: “Our objective is to make the room as successful as possible.”
