Festively prepared function space in celebration of New Year’s Eve at Mohegan Sun Pocono
between the I-476,Route 80 and Route 81
crisscrosses.From DC and Baltimore, Philly and NYC – as far as hours and dis- tance are concerned - this one’s a drop in the bucket.
It’s perfect for private parties,birthdays with a twist,or bachelorette parties,as well as family gatherings or private les- sons with Kim.Of course,while I’m wit- nessing
Ms.McLendon applying a splash more avocado oil to her aromatic scallop and shrimp scampi, I’m envisioning cor- porate retreats and team building aspects to this studio space - as comfortable (all forty seats each have an unobstructed view) as it is contemporary.
Located on 400 acres along the hilly and scenic inclines just beyondWilkes-Barre, PA, the Mohegan Sun Pocono typifies its family of Native American tribe-inspired
resorts.This one – although much smaller in scale than the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville,CT and its 1,356 rooms, 364,000-square feet of gaming space,and some 10,000 employees - is a well on par outpost,nonetheless, to the company’s big daddy casino resort up north.
By contrast, this Mohegan in the Poconos features some of the biggest gaming in the region with more than 2,300 slot machines and over 80 players tables on the 82,000-square foot gaming
floor.The resort also boasts 1,695 total employees and 238 hotel rooms – 218 standard rooms and 20 suites.
The property also can claim its very own convention center, featuring 20,000- square feet of flexible meeting space that breaks into 10 rooms ranging from a 330-
68 March April 2016
square foot board room to a 17,000- square foot ballroom ideal for corporate, association and social events. But all I know about the Mohegan Sun Pocono as I’m driving up there is that it will take less than two hours to
reach.An hour-forty minutes into my trip after leav- ing from my home nearValley Forge,PA, actually,and I’ve already arrived, far more quickly than I imagined I would.
This was an easy ride - and I should know. I’ve gone on FAM trips and site tours of properties where the stay was great but the ride there was a desperate, white-knuckled affair (if you want to know what a desperate,white-knuckled affair is, then just take a drive west on Route 78 around the PA state line into NJ,at,oh-let’s-say eight on a weekday morning).
This was the opposite of that sort of heart-stopping commute.
For me,and for most folks who are travel- ling from the south, I-476 is the way - one straight line. I keep a cool 65MPH (plus, maybe,another 5 or 6MPH’s) the whole way up while I smoke on by those nor- mally hazardous tractor trailers as they’re relegated to a slope climbing plod along the interstate,once the terrain turns from flat to rangy.
The Mohegan Sun Pocono’s location couldn’t be a better situated,nexus’d
The property provides complimentary valet parking. I repeat:The Mohegan Sun provides complimentary valet parking, something I’m not used to at most prop- erties, except for a few well-heeled steak- houses that I know
of.Also, the valets will drive you,via a cart,back to your car if you’d like, if you’ve self-parked (they offered me a ride when I was departing. I politely declined,nevertheless impressed by their good service).
As I approach the striking stone-cut delta shaped entrance jutting out to me, I gaze outward toward the perimeter of this vast property and upon a wire-to-wire draw – the premier 300-seat harness racing track. Overlooking it is Pacer’s Clubhouse,great for a drink,a bite to eat and some horse- power excitement. I imagine myself in mere weeks from now,when the season ramps up,with a racing program wedged into the crook of my arm,and,hopefully, a winning pick in hand.
Starting Memorial Day and going throughout the summer season the race- track hosts live entertainment; regional bands and international legends alike, such as the Doobie Brothers,Kansas, Trace Atkins,Huey Lewis,and Blues Traveler.
The lobby is expansive; sculptured and cascading with giant hewn
rocks.My casino radar goes immediately into action:my ears aren’t assailed by the typ- ical bing! bing! bing! and white noise I’m used to being bombarded with at similar
properties.No, I’m just catching cool tunage over the casino’s speakers – a bit of Tom Petty here, some of Rush’s“Tom Sawyer”there…
My nose doesn’t detect the ever-present cloak of cigarette smoke I’m also used to
elsewhere.Sure, there’s a smoking section
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