For the first time, in who knows how long, Management and I actually went somewhere and stayed up past our designated bedtime of 9 PM. You could file that under “sad” but really it belongs under “pathetic” because here it is Monday and I’m still in the recovery process for events that transpired some 36 hours ago. Sub-categorize it by “WTF” as I didn’t drink either. It might be time for me to make an appointment with a gerontologist.
Saturday night we headed over to the Mohegan Sun to meet some friends. It was my second time ever in a casino, and my second time at this one–the first being for a Microsoft convention when they were launching the whole “Less is More” thing, not something you want to be wearing on a t-shirt especially as a geek. No gambling for us as even the siren call of the nickel and penny slots could not beguile us to play a dollar. Instead we marveled at the architecture, Management and her friend are design students so they spent a better part of the evening moving from mosaic to waterfall to vast log structures discussing texture, meaning, and application. It is fascinating the amount of care and effort that went into the design and construction of the facility to reflect the history and culture of the Mohegan Tribe, just to see it is worth a visit alone.
Mohegan Sun is very much like a mall for adults, whereas a traditional mall is for teenagers, visitors do the slow circulation through the slots, gaming tables, free drinks, restaurants, and even stores–I like to refer to this process as The Rotisserie as people keep rotating until they are done. As evenings go it was a quiet one with a leisurely dinner and drinks afterwards at another restaurant with time flowing by unnoticed until we realized that the night was deepening and the clock approached one in the morning; always a mark of a good time.
It is very likely that we’ll go back, the restaurant selection is good and there is always a free show to be had but the biggest attraction for me is the people. Never have I seen so many Larks, wheelchairs, and oxygen tanks in one place with people cashing paychecks and social security checks all hoping to make it big while their children are piled carelessly in the corner just outside the gaming area. People watching here will leave you with a touch of melancholy but that can be quickly erased as you watch those that have had one to many whiskey and sodas stumble into a fountain or just decide to lay down in the middle of the floor to “just rest their eyes for a bit”.
Ahhh . . . the Sun.
Keep your eyes on the floor next time you’re there. The carpet patterns lead you to the exits and you’ll also most likely find several coins and chips strewn about.
My girlfriend had a stint there as an executive host, catering to the “whales” and whoever was headlining the arena. It may have shortened her lifespan, but at least she’s got a wealth of stories about what degenerates the upper crust can be.
That said, it seems like a trip to the sun is mandatory every time I return to CT. It also never fails that I get carded at the planetarium bar entrance and have to hold everyone up while I fill out an Id verification form. I think they’re just trying to keep slobs like me out.
I’ll have to keep the carpet trick in mind! I love free chips! The smoking I could pass on, I felt like beef jerky after leaving the place.
That planetarium bar is disorienting. We walked our way to the top and my eyes were constantly drawn to the ceiling so that I felt like I was going to walk off the edge and out on to the gaming floor.
I would love to hear some of those whale stories; anytime wealth and power is involved brown M&Ms and dead prostitutes suddenly become common problems.