Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation is a federally recognized American Indian tribe in the state of Connecticut. They are descended from the Pequot people, an Algonquian-language tribe that dominated the southern New England coastal areas, and ...

on their

reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

located in

Ledyard, Connecticut Ledyard is a Town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located along the Thames River. The town is named after Colonel William Ledyard, a Revolutionary War officer who was killed at the Battle of Groton Heights. The population was 1 ...

. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casinos have more than 250 gaming tables for

blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fam ...

craps Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, "street ...

roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

, and

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game wa ...

, and have more than 5,500

slot machines A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

. The casinos also have several restaurants, among them a

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and r ...

. It has been developed since changes in state and federal laws in the late 20th century enabled

Native American gaming Native American gaming comprises casinos, bingo halls, and other gambling operations on Indian reservations or other tribal lands in the United States. Because these areas have tribal sovereignty, states have limited ability to forbid gambling ...

on the sovereign reservations of federally recognized tribes. Foxwoods has two hotel towers, with a total of 2,228 hotel rooms; and an arcade for children and teens. The original tower, the Grand Pequot Tower, opened in 1997, while the second opened in 2008 as the MGM Grand. It was re-branded the Fox Tower in 2013. In 2015, a retail complex, known as Tanger Outlet Mall, opened between the two hotel towers with 85 stores featuring

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good (economics), good for which demand (economics), demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spend ...

History

The

Mashantucket Pequot Tribe The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation is a federally recognized American Indian tribe in the state of Connecticut. They are descended from the Pequot people, an Algonquian-language tribe that dominated the southern New England coastal areas, and t ...

gained federal recognition and legal control of their reservation by an act of Congress in 1983, which overrode a veto by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. The tribe moved forward with development. They founded Foxwoods in 1986 as a high-stakes bingo hall on their reservation. The tribe partnered with

Lim Goh Tong Lim Goh Tong (; 28 February 1918 – 23 October 2007) was a prominent wealthy Malaysian Chinese businessman & entrepreneur. He was renowned for his transforming Genting Highlands from an unexplored hilltop into one of the world's most successf ...

, a Chinese Malaysian who founded the only legal casino in Malaysia, for financing to expand Foxwoods into a full gaming casino. In 1992, the tribe added table games, followed by additional slot machines in 1993. G. Michael Brown became the chairman of the casino in 1993. In an agreement negotiated with the state of Connecticut, to gain their approval of the casino, the tribe agreed to pay 25 percent of the slot revenue to the state, a sum that amounted to almost $200 million per year . — More recent data is available at In the fiscal year ending June 2008, Foxwoods' 6,300 slots handled more than $9.1 billion. In January 2012, the "hold" was $45 million. A poker room and a high-limit 30-table game area were added in 1995. Because Foxwoods is located on sovereign Mashantucket Pequot land, it is not required to comply with state laws related to smoking. Constructed in 1996, the casino is not a smoke-free facility. Due to complaints in the early 21st century from patrons and employees, it has designated many common areas, such as hallways, walkways, hotel lobbies, retail stores, and most restaurants, as non-smoking areas. In addition, it has designated certain areas for smokers. The poker room is non-smoking, and separate table gaming and slot areas are designated as non-smoking. In 1997, the associated deluxe Grand Pequot Tower was opened for business. Foxwoods was once reported to be the world's largest casino, though it was later surpassed by

the Venetian Macau The Venetian Macao () is a hotel and casino resort in Macau owned by the American Las Vegas Sands company. The 39-story structure on Macau's Cotai Strip has of floor space, and is modeled on its sister casino resort The Venetian Las Vegas. It ...

Debt default

For years after opening in 1992, Foxwoods had a monopoly on casino gambling in the region. It made billions of dollars in profits. Shortly before the market recession of 2008, Foxwoods borrowed heavily to finance a massive expansion to include new hotel and conference facilities. Starting in 2009, Foxwoods defaulted on debts totaling over two billion dollars. As a result, in 2014

Standard & Poor's S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is con ...

lowered Foxwoods' credit rating. The Mashantucket Pequot, owners of Foxwoods, have applied for and received millions of dollars in federal grants.

Design

Over time, the casino management achieved full build-out of the resort by hiring several design and construction entities. The majority of the work from 1992 to 2001 was completed by Construction Managers CR Klewin aka Klewin Building Co. and the Architect of Record was JCJ Architecture (formerly Jeter, Cook & Jepson) of

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

. Planning and concept designs were by New England Design Inc. and Nick606 Inc. Later phases were completed by Shawmut Design & Construction, Perini Building Co., AZ Corporation, and others, with design work by

Steelman Partners Steelman Partners is an American international architecture and interior design firm specializing in entertainment architecture, interior design, lighting design, graphic design, 3D design, and master planning. The firm has designed casinos and i ...

, HKS, Inc., and others. The resort managers revamped the whole resort and casino, re-branding it as "The Fox". Additionally, the resort's appearance inspires frequent comparisons or references to it as "Emerald City", from the film '' Wizard of Oz''.

Gaming

Games available at Foxwoods include: * Traditional "big table"

Baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...

(

Punto Banco Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...

style) and "Mini-Baccarat", where a dealer handles the cards. In both variants the casino banks the game. * Bingo, with a bingo hall able to accommodate up to 5000 players. *

Blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fam ...

with 6- or 8-deck shoes. A variant called

Spanish 21 Spanish 21 is a blackjack variant owned by Masque Publishing Inc., a gaming publishing company based in Colorado. Unlicensed, but equivalent, versions may be called Spanish blackjack. In Australia and Malaysia, an unlicensed version of the game, wi ...

is also played. The casino offers a rare "Dollar blackjack" table (minimum bet is $1). *

Craps Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, "street ...

. * Keno drawings. * A

money wheel Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

in the Fox Tower * Pai gow is offered in the Asian gaming section of the Rainmaker Casino. * Sic Bo, an Asian game with three dice in a shaker, is also played in the Asian gaming section. * Table variants of

(played against the house) include Caribbean Stud Poker, Casino war, Crazy 4 poker, High Five poker,

Let It Ride Let or LET may refer to: Sports * Let serve, when the served object in certain racket sports hits the net and lands in the correct service court, such as; ** Let (badminton) ** Let (pickleball) ** Let (tennis) * Ladies European Tour, the ladi ...

, Pai Gow Poker, Texas Hold 'Em bonus, and Three card poker. *

Roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

: Almost all of the wheels are of the American variety (with two green spots, 0 and 00), although there are a few European-style wheels with only one zero. *

Slot machines A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

: It has 3,500 slot machines. * Stargazer Room: The VIP room. This section requires a minimum of 20,000,000 coins in your account. * A race book facility with a cafe. Bets may be made on Jai-Alai. They may also be made on a total of more than 60 tracks (combined) for

dog racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

and

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

. Races are projected on high digital screens.

Poker (formerly WPT World Poker Room)

The Poker Room (formerly known as the WPT-

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the f ...

World Poker Room until 2012) is located one floor below the Rainmaker Casino. Poker games of varying stakes are conducted here, including limit and no-limit

Texas hold 'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is one of the most popular variants of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt fa ...

, limit and pot-limit Omaha hold 'em (including hi/lo), and seven-card stud (high only and hi/lo). The poker room was relocated and expanded in March 2006, increasing the number of tables from 76 to 114, making it the largest poker room outside

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It is the third-largest poker room in the world, after the

Commerce Casino Commerce Casino is a cardroom located in the Los Angeles suburb of Commerce. With over 240 tables on site, Commerce Casino is the largest cardroom in the world. Established in 1983, the casino accounted for 38% of Commerce's tax revenues for th ...

and the

Bicycle Casino The Bicycle Hotel & Casino (commonly, "The Bike") is a poker cardroom in California. Founded by George Hardie Sr. in 1984, located in Bell Gardens, California, The Bicycle Casino offers a selection of poker games and Asian games, with a wide ...

Sporting events / entertainment

Since 2014, three major

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...

events have been held at Foxwoods: UFC Fight Night: Jacaré vs. Mousasi, World Series of Fighting 20: Branch vs. McElligott and, most recently World Series of Fighting 24: Fitch vs. Okami.

Fox Tower

Construction started in November 2005 on a $700 million expansion at Foxwoods. On April 25, 2006, Foxwoods announced that they would lease the MGM Grand brand name for the new building, and that

MGM Mirage MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Pa ...

would be a partner in the expansion project. The expansion, entitled MGM Grand at Foxwoods, opened on May 17, 2008. It is a separate building from the main Foxwoods resort. A moving walkway and Tanger Outlets Foxwoods (built in 2015), now connect the two complexes. Amenities at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods included: * 53 table games * 1,400 slot machines * 825 hotel rooms/suites * 4,000 seat performing arts theater * Four restaurants and four retail outlets In late 2013, MGM Mirage split from Foxwoods. The tribe renamed the building as The Fox Tower, part of a re-branding effort as they face new competition from other casinos in the region.MATTHEW STURDEVANT, "MGM Grand At Foxwoods Renamed The Fox Tower"
''Hartford Courant'', April 3, 2014 In 2015, Tanger Outlets Foxwoods opened within the complex, located between the two hotel towers. Constructed for $120 million, the 85-store mall features luxury brands.

Attractions

Restaurants

California Pizza Kitchen California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) is an American casual dining restaurant chain that specializes in California-style pizza. The restaurant was started in 1985 by attorneys Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax in Beverly Hills, California, United States ...

*David Burke Prime Steakhouse * Guy Fieri's Foxwoods Kitchen + Bar *

*High Rollers Luxury Lanes & Sports Lounge *Cedars Steakhouse & Oyster Bar *

Johnny Rockets } The Johnny Rockets Group Inc. is an American restaurant franchise whose themed decor is based upon 1950s diner-style restaurants. Décor includes Coca-Cola advertising, featuring nearly life-size cardboard illustrations of women in World War ...

* Stony Creek Brewery *Sugar Factory American Brasserie *

Wingstop Wingstop Inc. is an American multinational chain of aviation-themed restaurants specializing in chicken wings. Wingstop locations follow a 1930s and 1940s pre-jet aviation theme. The restaurant chain was founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas ...

* Vue 24 *coming in the future Wahlburgers * Regina Pizzeria * Cake by Franck *

Noodles Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, Ind ...

Unionization of employees

Beginning with an employee-led website to gain support and share ideas of how to react to changes employees had been going through, a small base of employees approached several union organizations to explore unionizing of dealers at Foxwoods Resort Casino. After the dealer group decided on the

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American Labor unions in the United States, labor union that represents workers in the Un ...

in June 2007, the UAW helped start collecting signatures from dealers in support of a union. The UAW announced in September 2007 that it had collected the requisite number of signatures needed to hold an election to determine whether table games and poker dealers desired union representation or not. The Tribe challenged the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board for their on-reservation Native American enterprises. Following hearings and review of the petitions, the NLRB ruled in favor of the union and ordered a union election to be conducted. On November 24, 2007, employees voted to unionize: 60 percent were in favor and 40 percent were against. UAW Wins New Victories at Two Casinos
(December 4, 2007) The Foxwoods dealers cast 1,289 ballots for the union, 852 against representation, with challenges to 36 additional ballots. Approximately 2,700 dealers and dual-rate dealers were eligible to vote in the election. After the workers won the right to unionize, Foxwoods Casino appealed the election results, reasserting its jurisdictional challenge. In addition, it said that the NLRB had made mistakes in conducting the vote. It had printed the ballot only in English and provided notices explaining the election in only one form of the Chinese language, thereby disenfranchising workers who spoke other languages. Furthermore, it said that interactions between union officials and some voters were unlawful. An NLRB Administrative Law Judge ruled that the union and the board provided ample explanation of the election in a variety of languages. Foxwoods appealed the decision. The Foxwoods dealers' union asked the state of Connecticut to improve the conditions of their workplace. Workers and union organizers pushed for legislation to ban smoking on the casino floors of Foxwoods and

Mohegan Sun Mohegan Sun is an American casino, owned and operated by the Mohegan Tribe on of their reservation, along the banks of the Thames River in Uncasville, Connecticut. It has of gambling space. It is in the foothills of southeastern Connecticut ...

. The Mashantucket tribe opposed a complete ban on smoking; however, in May 2009 Connecticut Governor

M. Jodi Rell Mary Carolyn "Jodi" Rell (née Reavis; born June 16, 1946) is an American former Republican politician and the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 until 2011. Rell also served as the state's 105th lieutenant governor of Connecticut. Rell was ...

signed an agreement with Foxwoods by which they would limit smoking areas in the casino. On January 26, 2010, dealers at Foxwoods reached a labor contract with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. They are the largest group of union-represented dealers at any U.S. casino. On August 7, 2013, the union announced a tentative new contract that would give dealers retroactive and future raises, set stricter limits on second-hand smoke, and give dealers the right to decide how tips are distributed. In April 2018, an additional 300 cleaning and maintenance workers voted to join the UAW.

Notelist

References

External links

The Foxwoods Resort Casino Web site
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in New London County, Connecticut Casinos in Connecticut Hotels in Connecticut Native American casinos Resorts in the United States Tourist attractions in New London County, Connecticut MGM Resorts International Pequot Casino hotels Hotels established in 1986 1986 establishments in Connecticut Native American history of Connecticut