Successful Meetings - October 2007 - (Page 60)

10.07 PLACES SPACES & Mohegan Sun Mark Twain Hartford Mohegan Sun Foxwoods Mystic Seaport Stamford MGM Connecticut Makes a Move Inside > Tahoe/Reno PAGE 63 > Austin PAGE 65 > New Orleans PAGE 68 > Los Cabos/Baja PAGE 72 > Ontario Province PAGE 79 > Korea PAGE 84 If everything boils down to location, then Connecticut has an interesting lock on the Northeast. Sandwiched as it is between New York and Massachusetts and boasting formidable entertainment opportunities in two of the world’s largest casinos, the Nutmeg State adds another advantage: many of its cities lie on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor Route or Metro North’s rail lines. “Avoiding the congested Connecticut roadways is certainly one advantage” of taking the train, notes Cliff Cole, Amtrak spokesperson. “Additionally, Amtrak offers a discount (20 percent) for 20 or more passengers when they travel together. You are only responsible for passengers who actual travel with your party,” he adds, “unlike the chartering a bus, where it is common practice to charge for each seat, whether or not it is actually occupied.” By far, the chief drivers of the state’s new allure are its two Native-American gaming casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, where next year will bring a slew of important venue developments. In May, the $700-million MGM Grand at Foxwoods is scheduled to open in Mashantucket, bringing an additional 825 guest rooms and suites to Foxwoods. Rooms will feature a contemporary design and will offer Apple iHomes, flat-panel TVs, and complimentary Wi-Fi. The hotel tower will incorporate a 21,000sf spa, a 4,000-seat performing arts theater, and a casino, as well as 115,000 sf of meeting space including a 50,000-sf pillarless ballroom that is on track to be the largest ballroom in the Northeast and bring Foxwoods’ total meeting space to 170,000 sf. Four new celebrity restaurants are also slated to open in May. A retail corridor—with an Apple store—will also be added, as will an outdoor swimming pool with luxury cabanas. This past July, The Club at Foxwoods opened, replacing Club BB; it features Top-40s-style music and free entertainment. Next summer, Mohegan Sun’s Casino of the Wind (which broke ground in June) is set to open in Uncasville as part of the $740-million Project Horizon. It features a 34,061-sf casino floor, 20 table games, 825 slot machines, and a 42-table poker room. It will also have a 16,000-sf Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville restaurant overlooking the Thames River, 2,600 sf of additional quickservice food outlets, and 2,700 sf of retail space. Recent openings include Sunrise Square, a new Asian experience in the Casino of the Earth, which opened in Aug and features a 5,000-sf bus lobby, a 4,000-sf Hong Kong-style food outlet, and a 12,000-sf gaming floor offering 46 table games, including authentic Asian games. The 7,500-sf SolToro Tequila Grill, co-owned by Michael Jordan, also opened in August at The Shops at Mohegan Sun. Scheduled for completion in 2010 is the Earth Tower, a 43-story hotel featuring 300 House of Blues hotel rooms, 700 Mohegan Sun hotel rooms, a 7,500-sf members-only House of Blues Foundation Room, and a 20,000-sf spa. OCTOBER 2007 SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS 60 mimegasite.com http://mimegasite.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Successful Meetings - October 2007

Successful Meetings - October 2007
Contents
Editor's Note
Suppliers
Suppliers
Calendar
Research
On the Record
Technology Talk
Mouth for Sale
Pre-Event
On Site
Tools of the Trade
Striking a Balanace
IACC’s New Generation
Suffering from “Green” Fatigue?
There Once Was a Group in Nantucket . . .
A Trick and a Treat
Places & Spaces
Reno / Lake Tahoe
Austin
New Orleans
Los Cabos & Baja
Ontario Province
Korea
Gurus

Successful Meetings - October 2007

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