Connecticut Casinos and DUI

When I was a kid the place to go for entertainment was New York City. It had everything. Still does. There were Broadway Plays, The Opera, and the Ballet. Night clubs were everywhere and the “greats” appeared there! NYC had the best of the best. It was awesome. If you wanted sports you had the Yankees in the Bronx along with the New York Baseball Giants in the same Borough. Then there were the Dodgers in the borough of Brooklyn. The greatest rivalry was when the Yankees and Dodgers played in the World Series. What energy! Three Major League Baseball teams in one city! Just think about that. Then there was football and you had the New York Football Giants and the New York Jets. Basketball had the New York Knicks who played in Madison Square Garden. And do not forget the Friday Night Fights at Madison Square Garden. And, this is not to mention all of the concerts that occurred at the “Garden.” If you liked Hockey you had the New York Rangers or the Islanders. You get my drift; New York had everything and still does. Of course today the New York Baseball Giants are the San Francisco Giants and the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. Oh yes, do not forget the New York Football Giants and the Jets play in New Jersey.

If you wanted to go to a museum there is nothing like the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Living in rural Connecticut was quiet with little world-class entertainment. Listening to New York City or Connecticut radio was OK! However, it wasn’t like being there and being involved live. You could drive to Boston or go over to Providence, RI but nothing was like New York City. Boston did have a lot of cultural things to do and they do have two of the greatest universities in the world. They also have great sport teams: the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. In the 1950s or 1960s, The Boston Red Sox had great teams but they were always Number 2 to the New York Yankees. Boston did have another Major League Baseball team—The Boston Braves. And, football had the Boston Patriots. There was one professional sports franchise that Boston had, which was the greatest: The Boston Celtics. No matter where you lived you knew who the “Celtics” were.

Even though New York and Boston had great world-class entertainment those of us in rural Connecticut had nothing to call our own. And, if you wanted to see world-class musical or sports entertainment and wanted to see it live it was difficult because you had to travel many miles and that was on top of the cost of parking in a major city and the time it took you to go there. If you lived in Boston or New York and went to any of the entertainment venues you could take a city bus or subway. It was easier. Not for us in rural Connecticut.

Now rural Connecticut has a lot of world-class musical entertainment at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun Casinos. All of the major musical groups, singers, orchestras and symphonies have appeared there and the cost is moderate. And, it’s closer. As a result of this, people from all over New England and the Northeast come to Connecticut.

Ehow.com reports the following:

In 1983 the U.S. Congress officially recognized the Mashantucket Pequot as a Native American tribe, and in 1987 the United States Supreme Court decided that Native American tribes are legally able to open and run gambling facilities on their own land. These two decisions led to the creation of Foxwoods in 1987.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Native Americans has long occupied the southwest corner of what is now the state of Connecticut. Since 1637, the tribe survived battle, occupation and takeover by settlers, resulting in their placements on one of the oldest reservations in the country in 1666. This is the land where Foxwoods stands today.

Wikipedia.org reports the following:

The development of the Mohegan Sun began in 1992 with RJH Development and LMW Investments of Connecticut, and Slavik Suites Inc. proposed the idea of developing a casino with the Mohegan tribe. The three companies formed Trading Cove Associates (TCA), which provided the Mohegans with financial support, tribal attorneys, and advisers to assist in the tribe’s effort to gain official recognition as a people. In March 1994 they gained federal recognition as a sovereign people, opening the way to develop a casino. Sol Kerzner, head of Kerzner International (formerly Sun International), became involved with a 50 percent interest in TCA. Waterford Gaming had the other 50 percent interest in TCA. The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (MTGA) hired TCA to oversee development and construction of the casino.

The casino and resort first opened on October 12, 1996. In 2000, Trading Cove Associates gave complete control of the resort to the Mohegan tribe; TCA still receives a 5% dividend on the gross revenue generated by Mohegan Sun until 2014.

^When you drive to and from these casinos you need to be aware of the increased traffic patrols. When you have two of the world’s largest casinos in close proximity to one another there is a heightened awareness about traffic violations and other crimes. The Connecticut State Police (CSP) has a casino unit and there is a State Police Barracks on Interstate 395 (I395). Needless to say the area has more motor vehicle traffic as the Casinos have people coming there from all of the states in New England and from the States of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. And both of the Casinos are in close proximity to Interstate 95 (I95).

So, if you are traveling to either casino you have to understand that the police are on the lookout for individuals driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The police are also patrolling for reasons of crime prevention. Interstate I95 is one of the busiest if not the busiest Interstate Highway in the United States. So, drive safely.

People coming to either Casino from New York City and parts of New York State and New Jersey travel North (some say East) up I-95 to I-395 and depending on what casino they go to they may take Connecticut State Route 2A to Mohegan Sun or Route 2 to Foxwoods.

If you are coming from the Scranton, PA area and the Newburgh, NY area people take I-84 into Hartford and then pick up Connecticut Route 2 to I-395 and then onto Route 2A to Mohegan Sun or Route 2 to Foxwoods. The driving directions can get a bit confusing taking you through some small towns.

If you are coming from the Providence, RI area and are going to Foxwoods Casino you can take I-95 to Connecticut State Route 2. From Providence to Mohegan Sun then I-95 to I-395 and to Route 2A are the heavily traveled routes.

Coming from the Boston area people take I-90 and I-290 to the Connecticut line and then pick up I-395 to Connecticut Route 164 and Connecticut Route 2 to Foxwoods. But if going to Mohegan Sun you would exit I-395 onto Route 2A.

Some of the heavily traveled Connecticut State Routes to these casinos are the following: Connecticut State Routes 2, 2A, 164, 138, 9, 7 and 8.

All of these roads are heavily traveled routes and heavily patrolled. The people of the State of Connecticut have demanded that the CSP and law enforcement in general, patrol the State’s roads for drunk drivers. The CSP is on the lookout for erratic drivers and motor vehicle violations.

Connecticut is a small state with heavy population density in its metropolitan areas. With the casinos bringing in upwards of 100,000 people on any given day you can imagine the concentration of traffic coming into these two venues. The casinos are in small towns by any standard. And, the casinos are mindful of traffic problems. They have their own police departments who assist law enforcement. The casinos are vigilant with regard to drunk driving on their respective reservations and the surrounding communities in general. Their police departments work in concert with State law enforcement to keep the roads safe.