As one of the largest resort casino in North America, Foxwoods Resort Casino offers its guests an all-in-one getaway.
15, the 20th anniversary of casino gambling at Foxwoods, Butera and Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, proposed a broader plan for how the business would go. Foxwoods Resort Casino remains open and will continue to welcome guests from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and other states bordering Connecticut. Effective Friday, Nov. 6, the Massachusetts Stay-at-Home Advisory goes into effect, which advises all Massachusetts residents to stay home between the hours of 10pm and 5am.
With several different rooms types to choose from, you can have high expectations for the luxury and sweet amenities of this fine Connecticut resort casino.
About the Casino
At Foxwoods Resort Casino, you don’t have to spend the day gambling if you’re looking for a break. Outside of the resort, you can play 18 rounds on the Lake of Isles championship golf course designed by Rees Jones.
Take a history break at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, which preserves the culture of the area’s first inhabitants.
Shop at Tanger Outlets with more than 70 premium retailers all under one roof.
Relax and pamper yourself at the Norwich Spa, or spoil yourself with a Native American-inspired maize-and-mountain-laurel scrub at the G-Spa.
Are you placing your bets playing real money blackjack, baccarat, or bingo?
If you’re looking to put your skill to the test while getting an adrenaline boost, buy in for a seat at the Sit & Go tournament in the East Coast’s largest poker room.
The History of Foxwoods
The story of how the casino came into existence started when The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe gained legal control of their reservation and finally received federal recognition by an act of Congress in 1983, which overrode a veto by President Ronald Reagan.
The tribe would start getting the ball rolling for the starting development stages, and by 1986, Foxwoods would be founded as a high-stakes bingo hall on the reservation.
The tribe partnered with Lim Goh Tong, a Chinese Malaysian man who founded the only legal casino in Malaysia, for financing the necessary cost that would finally turn Foxwoods into a full casino.
In 1992, changes were coming. A bingo hall would no longer be the only thing that the casino had in its name. In 1997, the associated deluxe Grand Pequot Tower was opened for business.
The tribe added casino table games, followed by even more additional slot machines in 1993. Also in 1993, G. Michael Brown became the chairman of Foxwood Resort Casino.
After an agreement between the tribe and the state of Connecticut, the tribe would agree to give 25% of all of their revenue from the slot machines to the state.
As of 2007, that total sum amounts to be around $200 million per year. By the end of June 2008, the 6,300 slots at Foxwoods had generated more than $9.1 billion.
In 1995, Foxwoods added a poker room as well as a high-limit 30 table game area. Because of the casino being located on sacred and sovereign Mashantucket Pequot land, it is not required to comply with the rest of the state’s laws regarding smoking.
From the date of its arrival in Connecticut, Foxwoods has never been a smoke-free resort casino.
As feelings around smoking have evolved drastically through the early 21st century, Foxwoods eventually began to receive complaints about all of the indoor smoking areas, such as hallways, walkways, hotel lobbies, retail stores, and most restaurants.
Since then, the hotel has moved the most of the smoking areas to where the guests can breathe fresh air in most of the places that were previously smoke friendly.
There many very large casinos in the United States, and Foxwoods Resort Casino holds the honor of being on that list. So if you’re really interested in seeing very large casinos that just have tons and tons of floor space, this is the place to go.
Fun Facts About Foxwoods
From the date of its conception to now, Foxwoods Resort Casino has some pretty interesting stories and facts about the resort that are absolutely worth mentioning.
Many locals say on good authority that legend says that Foxwoods, from their first day onward, have never truly closed their doors, meaning that for 25 years their doors have stayed open.
When Hurricane Irene hit Connecticut in 2011, the casino chose to leave its doors open even then—hey, that’s not what I would have done, but I guess it worked out for them! The casino was not damaged by the hurricane in the least and still has its doors open to this day.
Star Struck
Foxwoods Casino Floor Map
If you’re a citizen of the United States or simply just live on this planet then you should know who Frank Sinatra is.
When the casino opened the Fox Theater and Grand Pequot Tower hotel in 1993, Frank Sinatra sang and performed for five different sold out shows.
He left the audience with classics like “I’ve Got the World on a String,” ”The Best Is Yet To Come My Way,” and “My Way.”
Before his performance, he requested the essentials: cherry Lifesavers and Jack Daniel’s whiskey. I’ve never sang on a stage before, but I guess that’s the magic potion that he needs to thrive.
Sinatra hasn’t been the only world renowned musician of performer to have graced the stage at Foxwoods. Luciano Pavarotti, one of the best known Italian opera tenors of all time, performed at Foxwoods’ High Stakes Bingo Hall in 1994 for about 4,000 people.
It obviously isn’t a small Bingo Hall.
After his performance, Pavarotti was graced with three separate encores, bringing his audience back into the show for a final number. Some of Foxwoods’ exclusive commemorative gaming chips were passed around after his performance in honor of Pavarotti and all of his grand talent.
You can probably find some of the commemorative coins from the performance on eBay if you’re a serious collector!
The star power hasn’t let up at Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Plenty of other celebrities frequent the hotel. Some of the popular faces include Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas, Tricia Arnold, Nick Cannon, Quincy Jones, as well as several different contestants from America’s Next Top Model.
Inside the Casino
The facts definitely do a good job of showing how popular this casino really is. Foxwoods’ Valet attendants have parked over 23 million cars since the casino’s opening.
As compared to other casinos in the US, 23 million is a very high number, especially when you take into account the length of time the casino has been open and operating.
As one of the largest resort casinos in North America, Foxwoods has been considered by many to be a gaming paradise. With 3,500 real money slots on four different casino floors to choose from, it has the most comprehensive and diverse array of games in the region.
The Price is Right® Showcase Showdown, Wild Lepricoins, and Jurassic Park are all waiting for you to play until you’re ready to move onto something else. Becoming a valued member of the Foxwoods family when joining the Foxwoods Rewards loyalty program will give you extra access, bonuses, and benefits.
Inside Foxwoods’ Play Arena, it can be said that most people have never played casino table games the way you can here at Foxwoods.
The Play Arena gives players the ability to be able to play three live table games simultaneously. Whether you prefer baccarat, blackjack, or roulette, let Foxwoods Dealertainers spin the wheel and turn the cards that will name the winner while you watch all of the action from your personal play station.
Did I Leave Something Out?
This resort casino is a big one, and with its large size and densely crafted atmosphere for entertainment, there are going to be so many fine details that I’m just not going to be able to address in this short article.
If you’ve been to Foxwoods Resort Casino and know something cool about it that I didn’t mention, please feel free to share in the comment section down below!
Foxwoods Casino Map Of Property
After reopening its doors on June 1, Foxwoods Resort Casino announced on Friday it will be expanding its reopening to Fox Tower Casino, six in-restaurant dining outlets, and Monza World-Class Karting. It will also be offering more hotel capacity and a new drive-in movie theater experience.
The resort will also welcome back close to 2,000 direct team members after temporarily laying off a majority of their staff back in early May.
“Since welcoming everyone back to the resort, we could not be more pleased with business levels as well as guest and team member adherence to our new safety protocols,” said Jason Guyot, Foxwoods’ Interim CEO & SVP of Resort Operations. “As we look to the future, we’re excited to continue to build on this momentum to both allow us to bring back additional employees and offer our guests more of the experiences they’ve come to know and love at The Wonder of it All.”
The casino implemented new safety protocols and operating procedures to help decrease the spread of COVID-19 for guests and its staff. Before entering the casino you’ll have your temperature taken. If your temperature is higher than 100.4, you’ll be asked to leave. You’ll also be required to wear a mask at all times.
Here are the new additions to the resorts reopening plan:
- The Fox Tower Casino is now open Friday-Sunday from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. for slots and electronic table games. This ensures sufficient room for guests and team members to maintain appropriate social distancing while on the gaming floor. Additionally, table games are available in Great Cedar Casino on Saturday - Sunday from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m.
- Tanger Outlets at Foxwoods has over 30 stores open – including American Eagle, Banana Republic, Coach, Nike, Old Navy and more – with additional stores slated to open over the next few weeks.
- Friday, June 12-Sunday, June 14 This weekend, additional Grab & Go options will be available from 12:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.; Guy Fieri’s Foxwoods Kitchen + Bar begins today and Scorpion Bar on Saturday.
- Monday, June 15 Grand Pequot Tower hotel availability will be increased to meet increased demand.
- Tuesday, June 16 Monza World-Class Karting will reopen to the public from 12:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. with new safety protocols in place. The full list of protocols are available online but include: mandatory face masks, head socks and temperature checks for all guests; the use of Monza’s UV helmet sanitizer to disinfect helmets after each use; the disinfecting of all touch points on the karts after every use; limited group size with a maximum of five guests; social distancing markers in all waiting and queue areas; and guidelines in the room for new-customer briefings.
- Wednesday, June 17 Select restaurants will open at 50% capacity for in-restaurant dining with strict guidelines in place for physical distancing and disinfecting. These restaurants include David Burke Prime, Guy Fieri’s Foxwoods Kitchen + Bar, Scorpion Bar, Sugar Factory and Veranda Cafe.
- Thursday, June 18 California Pizza Kitchen reopens for in-restaurant dining.
- Thursday, July 2 Foxwoods will offer A Night Out at the Drive-In on the flat lot at the intersection of Route 2 and Foxwoods Blvd. Movies will be shown every Thursday-Sunday throughout July and August, and every Friday-Sunday in September and October. Price is $35 per car, and refreshments will be available for purchase.
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Foxwoods Casino Floor Plan Map
For more information on Foxwoods reopening, click here.