Watching US Davis Cup (Tennis) at Mohegan Sun

It was a great weekend for firsts. We had never been to a Davis Cup match and we had never been to the Mohegan Sun Casino. Why watch great tennis on TV when you can be there in person? And what better place to see it?

Since we had never been in that area before, we looked on the web for information about Uncasville. I only found hotel accomodations and Mohegan Sun listed. While in the area, we found several places of interest.

Mohegan Sun Casino. This beautiful casino was worth the trip by itself. Click here For lots of information about Mohegan Sun .

Foxwoods Casino: This casino, the largest in the world, is about 15 minutes away from Mohegan Casino. Foxwoods is more traditional than Mohegan Sun. The décor has more wood (paneling, cabinets, desks, etc.) than Mohegan does. Click here For information about Foxwoods Casino .

Mystic Seaport: The planetarium has one show a day, which lasts about half hour. In addition, you get to visit exhibits in many buildings and ships spread out on this property. There are reduced rates in the winter since not everything is accessible in the winter.Click here For information about Mystic Seaport .

Mystic Aquarium: The aquarium is different than I expected but was very interesting. I especially enjoyed the "Frogs" exhibit building since I had never seen so many different varieties of frogs. Click here For information about Mystic Aquarium .

Shopping: We shopped at Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods, Mystic Seaport, and Westbrook Factory Stores. Other choices we did not get to include Old Mystic and Clinton Corners.

Pequot Museum: About 10 minutes away is a museum that depicts Native American history. Click here For information about the Pequot museum .

Quick Tips:

Pick up a map of the area and brochures in the hotel.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you are staying at the Mohegan Sun Hotel and do not plan to leave Mohegan Sun, no car is needed. But if you plan to see some of the other sights, a car is needed.

We had a little time before going to the first tennis match, so we decided to go to one of the food courts for a quick lunch. We selected Johnny Rocket’s since it was on our AA Dining Club. Yes, we did have to wait in line, but the line went quickly.

This restaurant reminds me an old-style white-and-chrome hamburger diner straight from the movie set of American Graffiti. The chrome counter is consistent with the décor of the ‘50s. There are very few booths and usually a wait to get them. A suggestion would be to go to the take-out line and bring your food to the nearby courtyard where there is plenty of seating.

The lunch choices included lots of different hamburger combos and salads. Johnny Rocket’s also offers shakes and malts to complete the atmosphere of the diner. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger and my wife ordered a Southwestern chicken salad. She said that her salad had chicken, cheese, and tomatoes over lettuce. She said that she had never before had a salad with as much chicken or cheese! The salad was so large that she only ate half of it (we brought the rest to our car for lunch on another day). My hamburger was very tasty. The food was good and surprisingly reasonable (about $8 each). In addition, we received our lunch quickly.

While we were there, the waitresses gathered for a typical sing-along. I found out later that there are several songs on the jukeboxes that let customers select leads for this sing-along.

Some of one-word descriptions of this casino are: "wow," "awesome," "unbelievable," "huge," "well-lit," and "breathtaking." In fact, I was totally unprepared to see an architectural wonder of the magnitude of the new casinos of Vegas. I have included a picture I took of the map just to give you some impression of the layout of this casino. However just looking at the map does not give you the feel of just how large it is. One indication is the number of parking garages! By the way, I never once gambled during the entire three days I spent at Mohegan Sun and still there is so much for the non-gambler.

What is included in the property called Mohegan Sun?
Two casinos: One is called the Casino of the Sky which has more stained glass walls and ceiling fixtures and the other is the Casino of the Earth. Before we were told that you could not take video of the casino, we had taken some footage of the architecture of Sky Casino. The pictures do not really have the same impact of the genius of the architect.

Shopping: There are so many shops that there is a separate brochure that describes the stores all under one roof at Mohegan Sun. The brochure uses words like distinctive and unique and that is definitely accurate. It is hard to believe that I spent hours shopping when I thought I might spend minutes shopping.

Restaurants: The restaurants included the fine dining of Tuscany (see the waterfalls outside that restaurant), some chain restaurants such as Michael Jordan’s Steak House, and some quick cafeteria-style restaurants such as Johnny Rockets.

Theaters/Lounge areas: There are several large rooms for performances. Of course, we spent much of the three days in the Mohegan Sun Arena, which holds concerts, or for the weekend, a tennis tournament. While we were there, Little Anthony and the Imperials was playing the Cabaret Theater and Neil Sedaka was playing the Wolf Den. There is also a ballroom but I did not venture into that this weekend.

In addition, I guess I should mention:
Slot machines and tables: As I said, I did not gamble but there was lots of action going on. Some of the rooms are dedicated smoke free and of course, there was a high stakes area.

Click here for lots of information about Mohegan Sun .

When my wife suggested trying to get tickets to see the US Team play Davis Cup, I never realized what a great weekend we would have. It was fantastic! The three days will be a wonderful memory for years to come.

Excellent Play: It was a great seeing the American pros playing for their country against Austria. In the first match, Robbie Ginepri came back from a two-set deficit to win in five sets. His drive and determination were fun to witness. Being fans of doubles, we also enjoyed seeing the Bryan brothers play. However, the most impressive highlight was when Andy Roddick hit a 150-mile-an-hour serve, setting the record for the Davis Cup. The audience roared with delight.

Audience Participation: I had seen the "net heads" on TV, but actually seeing and hearing the noise these dedicated fans make live is entirely different. Not only were they colorfully attired (in red, white, and blue, of course), they had lots of signs. After Andy set the record for the 150 serve, they had a 151 sign made up for Sunday’s match. After each ace by Andy, they let us all know how many aces so far. In addition, many other fans waved the red, white, and blue streamers that we got at the door. I had goose bumps from all of the excitement.

Patriotism: The feeling of patriotism started when each team was announced and continued throughout playing the national anthems and continued even after both teams exited the auditorium.

Camaraderie: This was definitely a team effort. All the players rooted each other on. The players really enjoyed playing for their country.

Money’s Worth: For $90 - $350 for the three days, you got to see over five hours of singles on the first day (the first match went to the fifth set), three hours of doubles the second day (the Bryan Brothers are ranked #1 doubles team in the world), and three hours of singles the third day. We paid more for our seats to be closer, but frankly, our friends in the $90 section also had excellent seats. There really was not a bad seat in the house. For the third day, we moved up to the fifth row!

Other: There was plenty of free merchandise (free headbands, for example), as well as official USTA merchandise for sale. The tournament was held at Mohegan Sun arena, which afforded me the opportunity to wander around the beautiful casino.

One of my favorite stores at Mohegan Sun was Nostalgia. When I walked into the store, it was as if I was a teenager again. The entire store is packed with "stuff" that I remember from the ‘60s. It was definitely a time to reminisce about the "old" days!

There was an entire I Love Lucy section to bring back memories. There were several vintage jukeboxes (with real records!) displayed. There were a lot of old Coke bottles, terrific signs, and children’s books available to buy. Unfortunately, I just looked and did not buy. I almost felt that I should have paid an admission price to the "museum"! Of course, there was a ‘57 Chevy Belair model to drool over. Not only was there a life size statute of Elvis, I also saw one of John Wayne. What sweet memories.

There were many other great stores at Mohegan Sun. I suggest that you first just wander through the indoor "mall" and stop in at every store that seems interesting. The storefront displays are so inviting that I am sure that you will visit them all. Once inside, you will find the contents are so unique. After completing your tour of the stores, pick up the map and see if perhaps you have missed any stores. Make sure you allow yourself enough time. Most times when I shop, I am finished within an hour. The first day of shopping at Mohegan Mall took over three hours! In addition, I returned the next day for more exploring.

Click here for lots of information about the shops at Mohegan Sun.