Foxwoods Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of 9,000,000 sq ft (840,000 m2). The casinos have more than 250 gaming tables for blackjack, craps, roulette, and poker, and have more than 5,500 slot machines.[1][2] The casinos also have several restaurants, among them a Hard Rock Cafe. It has been developed since changes in state and federal laws in the late 20th century enabled Native American gaming on the sovereign reservations of federally recognized tribes.
Foxwoods has two hotel towers, with a total of 2,228 hotel rooms; and an arcade for children and teens. The original tower, the Grand Pequot Tower, opened in 1997, while the second opened in 2008 as the MGM Grand. It was re-branded the Fox Tower in 2013.[3] In 2015, a retail complex, known as Tanger Outlet Mall, opened between the two hotel towers with 85 stores featuring luxury goods.[4]
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe gained federal recognition and legal control of their reservation by an act of Congress in 1983, which overrode a veto by President Ronald Reagan.[5] The tribe moved forward with development. They founded Foxwoods in 1986 as a high-stakes bingo hall on their reservation.
The tribe partnered with Lim Goh Tong, a Chinese Malaysian who founded the only legal casino in Malaysia, for financing to expand Foxwoods into a full gaming casino.[6][7]
In 1992, the tribe added table games, followed by additional slot machines in 1993. G. Michael Brown became the chairman of the casino in 1993. In an agreement negotiated with the state of Connecticut, to gain their approval of the casino, the tribe agreed to pay 25 percent of the slot revenue to the state, a sum that amounted to almost $200 million per year as of 2007[update].[8] In the fiscal year ending June 2008, Foxwoods' 6,300 slots handled more than $9.1 billion. In January 2012, the "hold" was $45 million.[9] A poker room and a high-limit 30-table game area were added in 1995.
Because Foxwoods is located on sovereign Mashantucket Pequot land, it is not required to comply with state laws related to smoking. Constructed in 1996, the casino is not a smoke-free facility. Due to complaints in the early 21st century from patrons and employees, it has designated many common areas, such as hallways, walkways, hotel lobbies, retail stores, and most restaurants, as non-smoking areas. In addition, it has designated certain areas for smokers. The poker room is non-smoking, and separate table gaming and slot areas are designated as non-smoking.
