UNCASVILLE, Conn. – The Mohegan Tribe has a new partnership with the Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville restaurant chain. The deal was announced yesterday, as the tribe broke ground for the Casino of the Wind, the next stage in its $740 million casino expansion project.
The first official dig was made by Tribal Chairman Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum, using not a shovel but a giant Trackhoe. That not-so-traditional ground-breaking was followed by a traditional ground-blessing ceremony and preceded by a celebratory toast.
Also among those present were Lynn Malebra, vice chairwoman of the tribe; Mitchell Etex, president and CEO of the Mohegan Sun; Jeffrey Hartman, the Sun’s chief operating officer; and David Mexico, senior designer, of The Rockwell Group.
The 64,000-square-foot Casino of the Wind will be built next to the existing Casino of the Sky. The project is part of Project Horizon, the ongoing $740 million expansion that by its completion in 2010 will add more than 1.4 million square feet to the Mohegan Sun.
Its décor will feature “artistic representation’s of some of the Mohegan Tribe’s most timeless traditions,” the tribe said, “including the spirits of the four winds.” It also will include other tribal elements, including sun dogs and other solar phenomena, flocks of birds and illustrations of omens associated with the wind.
Inside, a 35-foot-high electronic and animated water wall will act as a projection screen for programmed video entertainment. A signature bar, surrounded by a 35-foot glass-clad column, will feature theme lights and a custom chandelier.
At Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, the wind from the casino will spiral down a 30-foot spinning waterspout every hour, filling a giant 8-foot-tall blender with, yes, margaritas, for guests who can sit on a sport fishing boat or wooden runabout docked at the Boatdrinks Bar. Entertainment will include live music from the Screw-pile Lighthouse, in the Florida Keys, and continuous video projected onto the sails of a replica of Buffet’s own sailboat, the Euphoria. The two-level, 16,000-square-foot restaurant will include a terrace for outdoor dining.
The Casino of the Wind is slated to open next summer. About 20 table games, 825 slot machines and a 42-table poker room are planned for the facility’s nearly 45,000 square feet of gaming space.
The Mohegan Sun, located on 240 acres along the Thames River in southeastern Connecticut, is owned by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority. To learn more, call 1-888-226-7711 or visit mohegansun.com.
