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Foxwoods Resort Casino is an
integrated resort A casino hotel is an establishment consisting of a casino with temporary lodging provided in an on-premises hotel. Customers receive the benefits of both gambling facilities and lodging. Since the casino and hotel are located on the same premis ...
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 located in
Ledyard, Connecticut Ledyard ( ) is a New England town, Town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States, located along the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. The town is named after Colonel William Ledyard, a American Revol ...
. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casinos have more than 250 gaming tables for
blackjack Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is 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 ...
,
craps Craps is a dice game in which players gambling, 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, " ...
,
roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...
, and
poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...
, and have more than 5,500
slot machines A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...
. The casinos also have several restaurants, among them a
Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme restaurant, theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos, hotels and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll ...
. 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, slots 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 fo ...
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 more significant proportion of ove ...
.


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 ...
gained
federal recognition This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes are legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United States.
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, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
. 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 entrepreneur. He was the founder of Genting Highlands and renowned for transforming the resort from an unexplored hilltop into one of the world's mo ...
, 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.


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 co ...
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 JCJ may refer to: * J. C. J. Kimaro, commander of the Kenyan Navy * JCJ Architecture, formerly Jeter, Cook & Jepson, an architecture firm; see Foxwoods Resort Casino * JCJ Vanderheyden (1928–2012), Dutch painter and photographer * Jean-Claude ...
(formerly Jeter, Cook & Jepson) of
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
. 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 ...
, HKS, Inc., and others. The resort managers revamped the whole resort and casino, re-branding it as "The Fox". The resort's appearance inspires frequent comparisons or references to it as the "Emerald City", after the city seen in the film ''
The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...
''.


Gaming

Games available at Foxwoods include: * Traditional "big table"
Baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game. It is now mainly played at casinos, but formerly popular at house-parties and private gaming rooms. The game's origins are a mixture of precursors from China, Japan, and Korea, which then gained popularit ...
(
Punto Banco Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game. It is now mainly played at casinos, but formerly popular at house-parties and private gaming rooms. The game's origins are a mixture of precursors from China, Japan, and Korea, which then gained popularit ...
style) and "Mini-Baccarat", where a dealer handles the cards. In both variants the casino banks the game. *
Bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** B ...
, with a bingo hall able to accommodate up to 5000 players. *
Blackjack Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is 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 ...
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 gambling, 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, " ...
. *
Keno Keno is a lottery-like gambling game often played at modern casinos, and also offered as a game in some lotteries. Players wager by choosing numbers ranging from 1 through (usually) 80. After all players make their wagers, 20 numbers (some va ...
drawings. * A money wheel in the Fox Tower * Pai gow is offered in the Asian gaming section of the Rainmaker Casino. *
Sic Bo Sic bo (Chinese language, Chinese: 骰寶), also known as tai sai (大細), dai siu (大小), big and small or hi-lo, is an unequal gambling, game of chance of ancient China, Chinese origin played with three dice. Grand hazard and chuck-a-luck are ...
, an Asian game with three dice in a shaker, is also played in the Asian gaming section. * Table variants of
poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...
(played against the house) include
Caribbean Stud Poker Caribbean stud poker, also called casino stud poker, is a casino table game with rules derived from five-card stud poker. However, unlike standard poker games, Caribbean stud poker is played against the house rather than against other players. Th ...
, 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 Pai gow poker (also called double-hand poker) is a version of pai gow that is played with French-suited playing cards rather than Chinese dominoes. The game of pai gow poker was created in 1985 in the United States by Sam Torosian, owner of ...
, Texas Hold 'Em bonus, and Three card poker. *
Roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...
: 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, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...
: 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 an oval track. The sport originates from coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of the greyhounds o ...
and
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...
. 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 ...
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 the most popular variant of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five Community card poker, community cards ...
, limit and pot-limit
Omaha hold 'em Omaha hold 'em (also known as Omaha holdem or simply Omaha) is a community card poker game similar to Texas hold 'em, where each player is dealt four cards and must make their best hand using exactly two of them, plus exactly three of the five ...
(including hi/lo), and
seven-card stud Seven-card stud, also known as Seven-Toed Pete or Down-The-River, is a variant of stud poker. Before the 2000s surge of popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was one of the most widely played poker variants in home games across the Unite ...
(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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. It is the third-largest poker room in the world, after the
Commerce Casino Commerce Casino, officially the Commerce Casino & Hotel 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 ...
and the
Bicycle Casino Parkwest Bicycle Casino (formerly 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 g ...
.


Sporting events / entertainment

Since 2014, three major
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
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 multinational hospitality, sports and entertainment company. It operates resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, Macau, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou and San ...
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 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, Inc. (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 ...
* Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen *David Burke Prime Steakhouse * Guy Fieri's Foxwoods Kitchen + Bar *
Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a chain of theme restaurant, theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos, hotels and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll ...
*High Rollers Luxury Lanes & Sports Lounge *Cedars Steakhouse & Oyster Bar * Johnny Rockets *Sugar Factory American Brasserie *
Wingstop Wingstop Inc. is an American international chain of restaurants that primarily sells buffalo wings. Wingstop locations are decorated with a 1930s and 1940s pre-jet aviation theme. The restaurant chain was founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, a ...
*Wahlburgers *
Regina Pizzeria Regina Pizzeria, also known as Pizzeria Regina, and originally called Regina Pizza, is a regional pizza chain in New England. The company was founded in 1926 by Luigi D'Auria in Boston's North End neighborhood. It has been run by the Polcari fa ...
*Alta Strada *Red Lantern *Momosan *The Bedford by Martha Stewart


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 United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...
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 The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces United States labor law, U.S. labor law in relation to collect ...
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 a large casino and entertainment complex located on 240 acres (97 ha) of the Mohegan Indian Reservation in Uncasville, Connecticut, along the banks of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is owned and operated by the fe ...
. The Mashantucket tribe opposed a complete ban on smoking; however, in May 2009 Connecticut Governor
M. Jodi Rell Mary Carolyn Rell (née Reavis; June 16, 1946 – November 20, 2024), known as M. Jodi Rell, was an American politician who served as the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 to 2011. Rell also had served as the state's 105th lieutenant gov ...
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.


See also

*
Gambling in Connecticut Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of Connecticut include two Indian casinos (Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun), parimutuel wagering, charitable gaming, the Connecticut Lottery, and sports betting. Casinos Connecticut has two Indian casinos, Fox ...
*
List of casinos in the United States This is a list of casinos in the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a ...
*
Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center is a museum of Native American culture in Mashantucket, Connecticut, owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Overview The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center ...
*
Mohegan Sun Mohegan Sun is a large casino and entertainment complex located on 240 acres (97 ha) of the Mohegan Indian Reservation in Uncasville, Connecticut, along the banks of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is owned and operated by the fe ...
—Connecticut's other casino *
Native American gaming Native American gaming comprises casinos, bingo halls, slots 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 fo ...
*
List of integrated resorts An integrated resort is a type of casino hotel that features hotel space, a casino, convention or meeting space, retail, dining and entertainment options. This article lists integrated resorts by their locations. Integrated resorts which are c ...


Notes


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 Connecticut Tourist attractions in New London County, Connecticut MGM Resorts International Mashantucket Pequot Tribe Hotels established in 1986 1986 establishments in Connecticut Native American history of Connecticut Casino hotels in Connecticut