Mohegan Sun—The Most Beautiful Casino in the World
by Stanley Sludikoff RA AICP

More than 30 years ago, I gave up my chosen professions of architecture and city planning, after more than a decade of practice and some seven years of college and grad school edu-cation, to enter the gambling publishing business. Although a bit rusty, I still have an active license to practice these skills. I tell you this so you will know that the opinion I give you today is not that of a layperson, but someone who has been schooled and practiced in the above professions. Over these last thirty plus years I have visited more casinos in the world than most people, but neither I nor anyone else has seen all of the 3,000 casinos in the world. Yet, from what I do know, I feel most confident in telling you that the newly completed Mohegan Sun is, far and away, the most beautiful casino in the world.

Only a few people have spent such humongous sums as $1 Billion dollars to build a casino, but none of these oth-ers have done it so wisely or so well. That includes a host of magnificent structures built during the last decade in Las Vegas, and a few other places around the world. My kudos to the New York architectural firm — Kohn Pederson Fox and the hotel’s interior design firm — Hirsch Bender associates of Atlanta, as well as the casino’s interior design firm — the Rockwell Group. These outstanding practitioners of their arts have given us an example to follow and a monument to their cooperative genius.

As I have said many times in the past, “there is no such thing as a great architect without a great client.” The profes-sionals mentioned above were fortunate to have the Mohegan tribe, led by tribal chairman Mark Brown, as their clients. Without the guidance, instruction and sensitivity of these Native Americans, and the cultural values of the Mohegan people, this epitome of grace and beauty would not have been achieved.

Magnificently sited on the banks of Connecticut’s Thames River, New England’s scenic woodlands provide a lush picturesque setting that the deserts of Nevada can-not naturally equal. Yet a less sensitive land planner might not have taken full advantage of this unique site. By using a complete crystalline glass curtain-wall skin, the archi-tects have created a negative space that reflects the beauti-ful surrounding environs, rather than thrusting steel and concrete against the natural landscape. The supporting landscaping, using natural materials, both blends and enhances the structures and exterior activities into a scenic delight for our visual senses.

Everywhere you turn you can observe the traditions of the Mohegan people and their great respect for the land and nature. There are lessons here we can all take with us as we return to our own home and office environments. A sensitiv-ity, now expressed and shown by their example that we can use again as we develop our own new spaces and renew and refurbish the old, both as builders and clients. A trip to the Mohegan Sun is not just a delight for the senses, but a lesson in design that the whole world can heed.

Although this structure contains complex and multifaceted functions, indeed it is a small city unto itself, like all great art, it’s easy to grasp and understand. The main form of the building is a “Y.” In the “foot” of the “Y” is the hotel lobby, entered from the second level. The front desk is on one side of a lake that serves as a mirror to the massive sculpture that frames this leg. On the opposite side is the elevator bank that feeds the 34-story hotel above.

Moving further into the structure we observe the two branches of the “Y,” the left leads you to the newer “casino of the sky,” dominated by the Wombi rock multi-story sculpture and featuring a 300 seat cabaret, while the right takes you to the “Casino Of The Earth,” dominated by the 350 seat Wolf Den with free nightly entertainment. Leering down from their den are several animatronic wolf figures, appropriately observing the casino action. Mohegan means, “wolf people” in the Mohegan language and “sun” means, “rock.” At the nexus is a roaring 55-foot high Taughannick Falls waterfall, which dominates the interior space. Each branch of the “Y” is a two-story, high ceiling promenade that provides access to some 40 shops and 29 restaurants with a wide choice of fare. Below the lobby is “Kids Quest,” where parents can park their offspring while they indulge in the casino arts. Behind the waterfall is a 10,000-seat arena for major entertainment. The structure also contains a spa and convention rooms to accommodate a large variety of meetings.

There’s a lot more to this special and magical place, but you need to see it for yourself to appreciate the many features that cannot be fully covered in this space. Just the view alone is worth the trip, but don’t forget to try the games.

This story was first published in the October - November 2002 issue of Gambling Times Magazine.

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