Mohegan Sun Closes Poker Room
by Stanley Sludikoff

Sadly, another poker room will be biting the dust in September. Executives have told Mohegan Sun employees that the casino will close its poker room as of Sept. 2 and fill the vacant space in the Casino of the Earth with slot machines. The 200 poker room employees will be offered jobs as dealers and floor people in other parts of the casino, according to Mitchell Etess, executive vice president of marketing. He said the poker market was not growing enough to justify keeping the room open.

“We really didn't believe the market in poker was big enough for both casinos (Mohegan Sun and Foxwood’s) to operate profitably,” Etess said. “We felt we could utilize the space to put in additional slot product that there is demand for.”

The closing will leave Foxwoods with the only poker room in New England, and is expected to place additional demand on the Mashantucket Pequot facility. Mohegan Sun's poker room holds 36 poker tables, while Foxwoods' larger card room has 54 poker tables.

The Mohegans closed their bingo hall three years ago and created a non-smoking slot machine room with 600 machines. Industry people know that slots bring in more money per square foot than most table games and poker rooms, but, the question still remains, “Will the removal of this poker room put the Mohegan Sun at a competitive disadvantage to its rival, Foxwoods, by having one less amenity?” Only time will tell. However, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun still enjoy a huge advantage as the only 2 casinos in New England.

Maine and Rhode island are moving toward capturing their share of this market, as is the possibility of another tribe opening in Connecticut, and one in Western Massachusetts, both even closer to New York City and its huge population.

At Foxwoods, Kathy Raymond, director of poker room operations, said some of Mohegan Sun's loyal poker players already were drifting over to Foxwoods. “It's a sad thing when any room closes,” she said.

John Kempf, a gaming analyst for Goldman Sachs, said poker is more of an amenity than a moneymaker. “For the most part, most casinos have been getting away from poker rooms or sizing them down or allowing one or two in the market to dominate,” Kempf said. “For the few people they (Mohegan Sun management) might upset, they'll more than make up on it with the slot machines on a crowded Saturday night.”

This story was first published in the Aug 11th 2003 Issue of Poker Player.

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