Mohegan Sun, Mini-trip report

[Kurn]

Last night we made a short pilgrimage to Mohegan Sun to celebrate the fact that today is my only day off until Nov. 8.

I hadn't been down through Indian Country since the Foxwoods Poker Classic last spring, so it was also my first drive by of Foxwoods since the MGM Grand openend.The skyline of "The Wonder of it All" grows and grows, but looks pretty cool at night.

The new casino at Mohegan, called casino of the Wind to go along with the casino of the Sky and Casino of the Earth, is smaller than the other two and is sort of a branch off Sky rather than being separate like Earth.

The key features are Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville and the poker room.

The Poker Room has (I think) 45 tables. I arrived at about 9:45 PM, and running were the following games:

NLHE (note: cash does not play, unlike at Foxwoods)

1-2 (looked like 20 tables)
5-10 (3 tables)

interest list for 2-5 and 10-20

LHE

2-4, 3-6, 5-10

interest list for 10-20 & 20-40

O/8

4-8, interest list for 10-20

Stud

1-5, 5-10, 10-20, interest list for 20-40

HOE

200-400 (1 table)

The high stakes HOE is not a surprise considering that before the old poker room got shut down in 2003, Mohegan regularly spread a 300-600 O/8.

Sadly, the 5-10 did not seem to be the old kill at $65 game that was the wildest LAG game in the area.

Since I was only intending to play for a couple of hours I decided to choose the shortest lists. 4-8 O/8 said "open seating" but the seat filled as I put in my name, so the next open seat was 3-6 LHE, know as the "turtle game" for the brown $3 chips with the turtle cave-painting drawing.

It was, to say the least, a classic loose-passive Friday night casino game. In the 2.5 hours I sat, I think there was one hand where as few as 3 people saw the flop. 6-7 was typical, usually for one bet, but in the rare cases where it was raised and reraised (can anyone guess who 3-bet preflop more than anyone else? ), the same cold callers came along as would have for a limp.

I tried to treat preflop like the game had similar implied odds to NL. People rarely folded on the flop, and few folded on the turn. The game contained maybe two people who might be able to hold their own at $0.25/$0.50 online and most of the rest seemed to be casino guests just out to have fun. The annoying exception was the drunk in seat 9, who had to be prompted each time it was his turn to bet (except for the times it wasn't his turn to bet and he got offended when the dealer wouldn't let him), never knew how much he was allowed to bet or the chip denominations ($1, $3, and $5 in play at the table), and occaisionally tried to win a pot at showdown by just announcing his hand but refusing to show.

At our end of the table (I was in the 4) we passed our time trying to decide what he was thinking, as it was clear he often was not even aware he was at a poker table.

All-in-all, I left down $21, but it was entertaining.

Best part about the room was the new tables. pale blue felt, auto-shufflers, and an in-table card-scan system for players club cards. You scan in when you sit down, the dealer links your card to your seat (and can adjust if you move), and signs you out when you leave the game with one touch of a button.

The down side was the noise level. The room is open to the casino floor, and Margaritaville is right across a small slot pit and has live music. I think hearing your seat called while the band is playing would be tough. The dealers I had were friendly and seemed reasonable competent, but nothing requiring any advanced knowledge arose while I was there, so who knows.

The room is a bit cramped compared to Foxwoods, beverage service was good. I don't know about food at the tables.

At the end of the day it gets a B+. Even though it's a 15 minute or so longer ride, I've always liked the whole experience at Mohegan better than Foxwoods, so I'm happy they're back in business.

[lightfungus]

Good report. Thanks.

[VeryMoonFunk]

Very good report. Haven't been able to make it over there yet so it was good to hear what it's like. Thanks!

One day when I get some money we should have a TP meetup at Foxwoods or Mohegan.

[BlibbityBlabbity]

Did you notice if they had any ongoing tournaments going on / coming up? SNGs, daily MTTS, etc.

Nice report.

[2Tone]

Informative and detailed. Thanks.

[Wes]

good trip report