Bet on a bargain at Mohegan Sun

by Tom Johansmeyer on

When even the loosest of slots can’t get you up to Connecticut, Mohegan Sun is ready to up the ante. Its “Bets & Bites” deal is designed to lure you and that big jar full of change on your bedroom floor to the casino … of course so you can win big.

For $129 a person (for two people), you’ll get a one-night stay at the casino’s hotel. When you’ve drained your cash at the tables, use a reservation at Todd English‘s Tuscany, Bamboo Forest or any of the other reservations on the property – made a bit easier by the $100 meal credit which will be applied to your room. The chef will even stop by to see how you’re doing.

After you bring your signed copy of Under the Sun: A Celebration of Cuisine & Culture, Mohegan Sun’s cookbook, back to your room, head back downstairs for one last bet. Mohegan includes a $10 play as part of the package. When you book this getaway, mention code PTFBV to take advantage of the deal.

And, there are more. See a full list after the jump, including some great ideas for Valentine’s Day!Here are a few more for you to consider!

Rest and Relax – Zen (starting at $219 per person for two people)

  • A one-night stay in Mohegan Sun’s luxurious hotel
  • Your choice of two 50-minute massages or one 50-minute couples massage at The Elemis Spa at Mohegan Sun
  • Whole fruit delivered to your room
  • An Elemis Spa gift bag
  • A bonsai tree to take home

Mention code PTSPA when booking.

A Pregnant Pause (starting at $189 per person for two people)

  • A one-night stay at Mohegan Sun’s luxurious hotel
  • A 50-minute massage for the mother-to-be at The Elemis Spa at Mohegan Sun
  • A gift for mom and baby including Elemis Spa milk bath products
  • A credit for Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, located in The Shops at Mohegan Sun

Mention code PTBAB when booking.

“In Like” Package (starting at $109 per person for two people)

  • A one-night stay at Mohegan Sun’s luxurious hotel
  • A half-dozen chocolate covered strawberries and bottle of champagne delivered to your room
  • One complimentary in-room movie

Mention code PTRML when booking.

“In Love” Package (starting at $219 per person for two people)

  • A one-night stay at Mohegan Sun’s luxurious hotel
  • VIP Hotel Check-In at Aquai
  • A dozen chocolate covered strawberries delivered to your room
  • Two complimentary martinis at Leffingwells Martini Bar
  • A couples massage at The Elemis Spa at Mohegan Sun
  • One complimentary in-room movie

Mention code PTRMH when booking.

No Boys Allowed (starting at $239 per person for two people)

  • A one-night stay at Mohegan Sun’s luxurious hotel
  • VIP Hotel Check-In at Aqaui
  • A martini mixing station delivered to your room
  • Two martini-themed manicures and pedicures at The Elemis Spa at Mohegan Sun
  • Two complimentary martinis at Leffingwells Martini Bar
  • Two complimentary breakfast buffets at Seasons Buffet
  • One $10 free bet per person

Mention code PTGRL when booking.

You Could Use Some Sun (starting at $99 per person for two people)

  • A one-night stay at Mohegan Sun’s luxurious hotel
  • A $25.00 food and beverage credit applied to your room
  • One $10.00 free bet per person

Mention code PTSD when booking.

Your next gambling destination – Chicago O’Hare?

by Scott Carmichael on

Illinois just ended a 15 year battle over their 10th casino license. The license had originally been awarded to the village of Rosemont back in 1997, but when it went dormant, it was revoked. It was then moved back to to the village when a different casino closed, and once again revoked when investigators suspected mob ties with the license holding company.

Rosemont had even started building the actual casino site, and anyone flying in or out of Chicago O’Hare will have probably seen the half built lot which has been untouched since 2005.

In the final week of 2008, the Illinois gaming commission finally awarded the 10th license to the city of Des Plaines. The proposed location is next to the airport, and is only seperated by a some houses, ironically enough, in the village of Rosemont.

The Des Plaines Casino is scheduled to open in 2010, but more legal troubles could delay that some more. Needless to say, Rosemont was not too thrilled with the decision, as they probably thought of themselves as the clear winners.

So, if all works out, anyone passing through O’Hare in 2010 will be able to grab a 10 minute shuttle bus to the new Casino, and lose their money before heading to Vegas to lose more of it. When the location is completed, it’ll house a hotel, shopping and dining district as well as the proposed 50,000 square foot casino.

The economy hits Las Vegas hard

by Grant Martin on

When the economy starts to slow down and consumers cut back on spending, one of the first things to suffer is the entertainment budget. This can happen locally, from eating out or watching films out to a broader radius — involving travel.

Traditional travel destinations like Orlando and Las Vegas feel the heat worst. So much of their local economy is based on tourists visiting, spending and investing in their economy that the effects of a market downturn are pronounced.

Subtly, I saw these effects first hand as a recent visitor to Las Vegas: high end clubs that were empty late into the night, low wager tables in the nicest casinos on the strip and long taxi lines waiting to pick up stray passers by.

On my way out of town I hailed a cab at the front of the Palms under the hot, late summer heat. Driving down Tropicana on the way to McCarran airport I asked the driver how business was.

“Slow,” he told me. Over the course of the year, more hotel rooms had progressively gone unbooked, tables been deserted and taxis roamed the streets empty, searching for fares. This was the last year driving for this cabbie. He told me at the end of the next season he was leaving the city where he had spent the last twenty years to head for greener pastures in Portland.

As we pulled into the terminal, he pointed over at “the pit,” the loading zone through which cabs filter into the airport. The line stretched back through the gates, around the corner and out of sight. Like that queue, the Las Vegas economy has a long hard road ahead.

Strippers in Las Vegas Casinos? Not Yet

by Josh Lew on

Anything goes in Vegas, right? Not quite. Have you ever asked yourself why there are no strip clubs in casinos? Ok, probably not, but it seems odd that with all the adult entertainment in Sin City, there are no such options in major gaming venues. It makes almost perfect sense from a business standpoint. People throw their cash at casinos by gambling. Why not allow them to literally throw their cash at dancers employed by a casino?

Past casino/adult entertainment marriages have been nixed, mostly because of worries about lap dances and other extras that some strip club personnel are known to offer. I don’t know about the inner workings of casinos, but I assume that they don’t want to be investigated for anything like that when there are other profits to be had more easily. (By the way, contrary to popular belief, prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas, though the mayor has been vocal about legalizing it). There are still many adult entertainment venues, just none in major casinos. Until the laws change or someone decides to take a chance, it is probably going to stay that way.

Vegas Building Boom Means Cheap Rooms

by Josh Lew on

Las Vegas is feeling the pinch of slumping travel numbers. The amount of visitors who enter Sin City has dropped by nearly 5%, but the construction of new hotels has led to an increase in rooms. Who to fill them?

Once they get over criticizing themselves for lacking foresight, hotel execs have to find a way to hawk all those empty beds.

The obvious strategy, at least for the short term, is to lower prices until they reach a point where visitors won’t mind shelling out a little extra for the flight because they are getting such a ridiculously cheap deal from the hotel.

How cheap is ridiculously cheap? According to MSNBC, over half the casino-owned hotels in the city are offering rates of $50 per night or below. Yes, that type of price is usually reserved for roadside motels where you can also choose to pay by the hour. Even high end, established names like Luxor and MGM Grand have rooms available for under $100 per night.

However, the famous ad campaign tag-line might be true of hotels as well. What happens in Vegas…isn’t happening elsewhere just yet. Rooms in Chicago, New York and other major metro areas are still at full price. International tourists, convention-goers, and business travelers make up the bulk of New York’s hotel customers. They have other bases to rely on as the number of US-based leisure travelers decline. That is not so in Las Vegas.

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