Mohegan Sun Casino

The casino part is fun, I guess, but it is easy to get lost in it. With the lights and sounds blaring throughout the atmosphere, it's hard not to play. To get to anything else, you have to walk through the casino floor. The shopping area is awesome, with an eclectic assortment of shops with prices that resemble a high stakes gamble. The architecture is awesome too!

Quick Tips:

There are tons of things to do here, but if you go to the website (www.mohegansun.com) and see what's playing in the Wolf's Den, you might be able to catch a cool show. Otherwise, there is always a lot happening.

Best Way To Get Around:

I would suggest driving there since the casino is in the middle of nowhere, but if need be, I believe there are Chinatown buses out of most major North Eastern states to the casino. And if you do drive, please bring a designated driver, because they just feed you drinks because they want you to gamble and gamble, then go home broke and drunk. And it works!

After walking through the casino floor and getting sucked into the mayhem that is the gamblers den, we were craving some ice cream. Now I had heard, from my girlfriend, that the Ben & Jerry's here was bar none to any ice cream shop I had ever been to. So, off we went on our adventure for frozen treats.

When we finally found the ice cream haven (after we got lost for a while - the place is huge!) the line resembled a snake since it was twisting a turning and almost never ending. So we jumped on the end of the line (we weren't the last ones for long since soon the word was out that we were here and people came from all around...or they just wanted ice cream...which ever comes second) and waited. When our turn came, we were greeted by a group of stoned hippies with tye-dyed shirts, hemp necklaces, and armed with ice cream scoopers.

I went with chocolate chip cookie dough in a waffle cone and my girlfriend went with cookies and cream in the waffle cone. These were AMAZING! I know that everyone has probably had Ben & Jerry's before, but this was amazing, and I have no idea why. The price was a bit high, but totally worth it.

So, if you find yourself walking around the casino and need something to do, this is a do. But make sure you get a bottle of water afterwards because the ice cream will dry you out.

While I was visiting my girlfriend's family in Connecticut, we decided to drive on over to Mohegan and do some gambling. This is never a good idea since no one ever really wins when they go to a casino, but we figured, why not, right? Unfortunately, our drive from eastern Connecticut to the casino was wrought with near disastrous weather. The rain was blanketing the car and the windshield wipers just couldn’t keep up. It was like an umbrella trying to cover a jet; it just didn’t work. We finally pulled off the road to get new wipers (after getting lost for a while in the back roads that are Uncasville, Connecticut) and to get our bearings. Then after we get the new wipers on, the rain lets up, of course and the path to the oasis of money in this back woods area opens up right in front of us.

After finding parking and our way into this financial vortex, we immediately regretted coming, because neither of us are in a position to be blowing money away. Life in New York doesn’t allow you to be so lackadaisical with your money, so a casino probably wasn’t the smartest of the ideas, but who cared at that point; we were already in the doors. The first stop we made was the bar and grabbed two drinks and listened to some unknown band play it up in the free music venue. They weren’t too bad, but we were on a mission to get a drink then lose some money. And that we did!

Now, I am not a big gambler, but with the lights, sounds, and overall ambiance of this hall of deviants, we were both kind of sucked into it. There is one game that I am quite partial to and I believe that it is called Big 6, but that could be what they called it in Vegas and that isn’t really the name. Anyway, it is a giant wheel that spins around and you pick a number (1, 2, 5, 10, 20 or 45) and when the wheel stops, whatever number you picked (if the wheel lands on it) then you win 1x, 2x, 5x, etc. of that bet. This game probably has the worst odds of all games in the casino, but I like it. Unfortunately, the wheel was only open on Saturdays and we were there on a Friday, so I was SOL (S#@t Out of Luck).

So after losing a good, hard earned $20, we packed up our egos and headed out into the mall of the casino. Here, there is plenty to do and one of our favorite parts. So, remember, you don’t have to just gamble at the casino, they can take your money in other ways; commerce.

While walking around the mall section of the casino, my girlfriend and I came across a store front whose walls were nothing more than a giant fish tank. There were hundreds of fishes swimming around in this gigantic tank, enjoying their fifteen minutes of fame among the children of the casino.

Inside the store, the merchandise was a little less impressive than the front window, but still interesting. This place is geared more towards the upper echelon of the Connecticut consumer world. A lot of this stuff was beyond me, but some of it was really cool; circular tanks, millions of tropical fish, snakes, and fish type decorations at every corner of the far reaching store.

This place wasn't really my cup of tea, but for those inclined to do spend large amounts of money, this is the place for you. And the kids will love it because Dorie and Nemo are both there in the front tank, so they will be entertained.

After witnessing the giant fish tank, and still wishing to work off that Ben & Jerry's, my girlfriend and myself decided to keep walking around. And after a little exploring, we came across a music memorabilia store right in the mall section called Spin Street.

Here, they had everything from books, autographed posters, regular posters, records, old concert signs, guitars, and other music artist memorabilia. I made a b-line for the guitar (since I had been in the virgin islands for over a week, I missed my guitar). I played that thing as if we were some kind of lost lovers being reunited for the first time in decades.

We then looked over the artist memorabilia and books. I love looking at biography books about musicians because I feel that rock stars live unique lives and I want just a slight insight into their world. But now, even with the Family Guy section, we were both too tired and needed to get home and to bed, so off we went. But this place was fun and definitely worth a stop by. I mean, you are in the casino anyway, so take the detour and hit up Spin Street.