Enjoy the “other” Mohegan Sun – closer to home
Think “Mohegan Sun,” and you likely conjure the massive pleasure dome in Uncasville, Conn. But there is another, more modest, Mohegan Sun hotel-casino a little closer to Southern New Jersey.
Mohegan Sun Pocono Casino Resort, Pennsylvania’s oldest legal gambling den (it opened in October 2006), is located just 120 miles northwest of Cherry Hill in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. on the western edge of the Pocono Mountains. It sits on a sprawling campus it shares with the venerable Pocono Downs racetrack under the gaze of the Northeastern Pennsylvania mountain range.
A trip to MSP is perfect in the summer for those who want to avail themselves of the many pleasures of the region (hiking, boating etc.) but who are also looking for the amenities and creature comforts of a full-service casino-hotel.
What immediately stands out to a visitor is the ease of navigation around the property. Like Atlantic City’s Borgata, the casino floor is the hub around which most everything else revolves. Though it was our first visit since checking out the original, temporary facility shortly after MSP opened, finding our way around was extremely easy from our first steps inside.
The seven-story hotel tower boasts 220 standard rooms and 20 suites. We found our room, while not quite spacious, big enough as to not feel claustrophobic, nicely appointed and extremely comfortable.
As MSP is not geared to the super-high-end customer, the vibe is friendly and casual. Low-level betting minimums (e.g. $5 craps tables and relatively inexpensive poker tournaments) make the casino inviting to gamblers on a budget.
This is not to suggest MSP is cut-rate in any way, especially when it comes to its restaurant inventory.
The Rustic Kitchen, one of the mini-chain’s four dining spots (one is in suburban Boston, the other two are in Mexico) is a low-key, upscale American bistro. The wood-heavy décor is at once suggestive of a traditional country inn, but also quite modern. And the fare rivals that of any casino dining room (our 14-ounce New Zealand lamb chop daily special was exquisitely prepared and presented).
A unique feature is the weekends-only “Cooking Show,” a fixed-price, wine-paired dinner during which the chef guides guests through the three-course meal that changes monthly (advanced tickets required).
Another winner is Pearl Sushi Bar, a traditional Japanese-inspired operation whose $14.95 steak teriyaki (includes soup, salad and rice) may be the best dinner bargain in any casino anywhere. For more serious (and well-heeled) carnivores, there is also a Ruth’s Chris, where you can sink your choppers into one of their decadent, butter-soaked cuts of ultra-prime meat.
Those of more modest resources can indulge at Timbers Buffet, or several food court outlets including Slice’d (for pizza) and Wolfgang Puck Express.
Bars are plentiful. They include Molly O’Shea’s, an Irish saloon; Breakers, and Bar Louie, which seems to be a favorite of the younger set.
Entertainment options include Wise Cracker’s Comedy Club (Friday and Saturday nights) and occasional concerts in the Keystone Grand Ballroom (upcoming dates include Herman’s Hermits on Aug. 17 and country warbler Lee Ann Womack Aug. 18).
And of course, there is harness racing at Pocono Downs, which can be accessed from the casino-hotel. The current season continues to mid-November.
If relaxation and rejuvenation are key to your survival, MSP has that covered with the luxurious Spa Sapphire.
Because of its location, off-property activities abound. In addition to those that take place outdoors, there is also nearby Scranton, home of the Steamtown National Historic Site (www.nps.gov/stea/index.htm), a shrine to vintage rail travel; and for shoppers, the Steamtown Mall, which, fans of “The Office” will recall, was a regular destination for the Dunder-Mifflin crowd.
Scranton is also the site of the Lackawanna Coal Mine (www.lackawannacounty.org/index.php/attractions/coal-mine), which offers trips down into the no-longer active anthracite repository.
In all, Mohegan Sun Pocono offers rambling gamblers from South Jersey a convenient, worthwhile getaway.
Mohegan Sun Pocono, 1280 Pa. Route 35, Wilkes-Barre, 570-831-2100, www.mohegansunpocono.com.
Dip in the Ocean
By the time you read this, Atlantic City’s gaming landscape will be considerably different thanks to the scheduled June 28 opening of two mega-resorts.
One, of course, is the Hard Rock Hotel Casino, which, as noted in the preview in the our previous (Spring, 2018) column, occupies what used to be the Trump Taj Mahal. The other is Ocean Resort-Casino, which had a brief (2012-2014), sad life as Revel.
While the folks at Hard Rock have kept the media and public abreast of their plans with regular updates, community meetings, etc., Ocean Resort officials have been less forthcoming. But here’s what we do know:
The casino-hotel was scheduled to open its doors June 28 (the same day as Hard Rock), with 1,399 rooms and suites (operated as part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection hotel group), 138,000 square feet of gaming space and -- as its centerpiece -- what is billed as the world’s largest Topgolf Swing Suite, a virtual reality golf-and-other-games complex that encompasses 26,000 square feet and offers a dramatic ocean view. There are also five swimming pools.
Another amenity is Exhale, a large spa providing a full menu of treatments as well as activities like yoga and meditation sessions.
On the restaurant front, American Cut, a (very) pricey (but fabulous) steak house that did business at Revel, is part of the fine-dining lineup along with Dolce Mare, an Italian outpost. Embattled Philly uber-chef Jose Garces was reportedly planning to reopen two of his Revel restaurants (one being Spanish-style Amada), but as this was being written, there was no mention of either on the property’s website.
On the casual side, the big news is that megastar actor Mark Wahlberg has put this region’s first Wahlburgers burger joint inside Ocean Resort (he also has a bar called “Entourage;” he was an executive producer of the popular HBO series of the same name).
And kids of all ages will no doubt get a kick out of Cereal Town, which serves the popular breakfast food throughout the day.
As for nightlife, dance club devotees will surely welcome the re-opening of HQ, Revel’s massive -- and massively successful -- disco, as well as the return to the site of Royal Jelly Burlesque, which was/is run by nightclub impresario Ivan Kane.
Not so certain is the headliner policy. Although the complex boasts Ovation Hall, a 5,200-seat, state-of-the-art, best-in-AC performance venue, as this was being written, nothing has been disseminated about the casino’s headliner strategies. Nor has there been any word about what Revel called The Social, a 700-seat space adjacent to the casino.
For more info, go to www.theoceanac.com.
