Poker News

Foxwoods Casino

“When you build it, they will come,” is a famous line from the movie Field of Dreams. Many people called it a baseball movie. I call it is an amazing life lesson told around a baseball theme.

This same belief was certainly shared by the visionary who first built a high-stakes bingo hall in the Connecticut woods in 1986 when Foxwoods Resort and Casino was born. We heard a story about a local resident who went to the first construction site and asked the workers what they were building. When told it was a high-stakes bingo hall, the resident laughed and said, “No one will come all the way out here in the woods for bingo.” No one could ever have been more wrong.

No one could have ever guessed that Foxwoods would become the largest resort casino in the world when they opened their first casino in 1992. Or, that they would grow from that single casino to today’s sprawling six casinos with 340,000 square feet of gaming in a complex that covers nearly 5 million square feet? How big is that . . . well, the playing area of a regulation football field is 100′ X 300′ or 30,000 square feet.

Our first view of Foxwoods was breathtaking. We flew into Hartford late in the day and rented a car. We were given rather obscure directions. When I asked for more specifics, the car rental agent just smiled and said we would know when we got there. That made about as much sense as directions like “take the last exit before the first toll”!

It was one of those cold and miserable days when the rain is persistent and the wind is unforgiving. Less than an hour into our foggy drive, we turned a curve and, as if by magic, this amazing structure glowed in the distance and rose from the mist. It reminded me of my childhood vision of Camelot. I heard classical music in my head, just like the music the helicopter pilot played when we came over the crest and he dropped us into the Grand Canyon for the first time.

We drove another mile or so as the structures grew larger and larger. I said, almost absently, “I wonder how exactly we get there.” Greg responded, “Just follow the line of cars!”

When we arrived at one of the three hotels, the Grand Piquot Towers, pronounced pee’-qwat, we were greeted warmly . . . like returning dignitaries. To say the architecture is expansive is an understatement.

The glass domed entrance of the hotel was massive and welcoming in the cold evening air. We soon discovered that much of the development was treated like an art gallery with original art honoring the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, the owners and founders.

We made a game of eating out and deciding which of the 25 restaurants we would visit for each meal. Even though I generally shy away from shopping, I enjoyed the selections in the retail shops along the airy glass enclosed concourse. This place is really, really big!

Big, however, is getting even bigger. Tribal and Foxwoods officials broke ground November 15, 2005, on yet another $700 million development project. The project will add 2,300 permanent jobs, bringing total employment to more than 13,500 people at Foxwoods. The new development will add an additional 2 million square feet bringing the total to nearly 7 million square feet under one roof!

For us poker players, Foxwoods plans to open a newly expanded state-of-the-art poker room in the Spring of 2006. The project will boost the number of poker tables from its current 76 to 114. Director of Poker Operations, Kathy Raymond says, “More tables and cutting edge technology will translate into less waiting and more action for our players, as well as giving us an even greater opportunity to host premiere poker events.”

We just returned from Foxwoods’ record breaking World Poker Finals where 783 people entered the championship event. After winning a multitable satellite, I played in my first $10,000 event and cashed at 91st. Even though I was blue for a couple of days, Greg was so proud of me you would have thought I won the tournament and brought home the $2.1 Million first place prize!

Since Foxwoods’ World Poker Finals is a World Poker Tour event, once the final table is down to heads-up (two people), there is a money presentation. The remaining prize pool of more than $3 Million is ceremoniously brought to the final table. At Foxwoods, we were delighted with the presentation by Red Bear Productions, a group of Native Americans from differing tribes who honor their roots with traditional attire, singing and dancing. On our second trip to Foxwoods, we were shuttled to the property from Providence airport rather than having to rent a car. Once on property, we had everything we needed. There is simply no need for a car! By the way, on one of our airport commutes, the driver told us it would take one full day to just tour all of the casinos, and three full days to tour the entire complex. I wonder how long it will take once the expansion is completed to nearly 7 million square feet. “When you build it, they will come.” Foxwoods did, and the people continue coming . . . to the tune of more than 40,000 guests each day! To sum up my overwhelming feelings of Foxwoods in one word, “Wow!” To quote another famous movie line, “I’ll be back.” Check out www. Foxwoods.com. Remember, if you can’t raise, don’t call.

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