Saturday, September 23, 2006

Mohegan Sun

One of the little outings we took with Brett, the artistic director here at the Spirit of Broadway Theatre, was to the Mohegan Sun Casino right near Norwich. I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful, a more stunning casino in my life. And I've seen quite a few, having worked in them at one point in my life. The entire building is a work of art, beginning with the hotel itself as seen from a distance.

Mohegan Sun Casino
And no, that's not an optical illusion that the top of the hotel bends outward. In person, it almost looks like an animated backdrop set against the horizon. There are two massive sections of the casino itself. Casino of the Earth and Casino of the Sun. It boasts the world's largest planetarium, which arches over this brilliantly lit glass cliff. (It was too dark at the time we were there for my camera, unfortunately). In fact, the entire section of the Casino of the Earth was a bit dark for picture-taking. However, in person, it's stunning.

Mohegan Sun Casino Jim Brochu stands with Indian Chief
As we walked to the Casino of the sun, we went down this long hallway.

Mohegan Sun Casino

In the Casino of the Sun lobby, there were these massive "trees" made out of beads.

Mohegan Sun Casino
Another view:

Mohegan Sun Casino
Jim with Brett, Karen and Janet:

Mohegan Sun Casino
The beautiful reflecting pool beneath the big trees:

Mohegan Sun Casino reflecting pool
And this leads to the massive indoor 7-story waterfall and glass sculpture:

Mohegan Sun Casino
Amazing, huh?

4 comments:

Bev Sykes said...

I am not a casino person, but I went to an Indian casino in Wisconsin which was built very similar to this--not quite the grand scale, but the four season motif. The one outside of Sacramento is just a casino with no discernible "theme" to it.

Anonymous said...

Is that a Chihuly glass sculpture in the lobby? Absolutely stunning!

Peterson Toscano said...

Great photos! I went to Mohegan for the first time this summer for a Donna Summer concert. Donna was amazing, of course, but so was the casino and the meal before the show. I loved that they had native American dishes mixed in with other foods on the buffet.

I was amazed at the beauty of the place.

Steve Schalchlin said...

I believe it is a Chihuly, Carl. I remember Brett naming the sculptor as being world famous.