Which East Coast Casino Did USA Today Name Best In The Nation?

[toc]A Native American casino in the middle of a Connecticut forest has been voted the country’s best.

In fact, Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut won the title of Best U.S. Casino from the USA Today 10Best Reader’s Choice 2017 awards this year.

Lisa Robertson-Dziedzic, the editorial director of Casino Player and Strictly Slots magazines, and Tony Harrell, a travel agent with Abundant Travel, specializing in casino vacations, nominated 20 of the more than 1,500 casino properties across the country for the awards for the USA Today 10Best website.

Readers choose Mohegan Sun

After the nominations, for the four weeks leading up to July 21, USA Today 10Best readers voted for their favorite U.S. casinos. In the end, Mohegan Sun replaced 2016 winner Pechanga Resort & Casino as Best U.S. Casino.

Mohegan Sun is one of the largest casinos in the United States, featuring more than 360,000 square feet of gambling space. The massive 240-acre casino, hotel, dining and entertainment complex sits in between four major East Coast cities:

• New York
• Boston
• Hartford
• Providence

It’s three casinos, Casino of the Earth, Casino of the Wind and Casino of the Sky, boast more than 5,000 slot machines and 275 table games. Plus, Mohegan Sun also hosts a 42-table poker room.

In November 2016, construction wrapped on a new $139 million, 400-room, 242,000 square-foot hotel, Mohegan Sun’s second hotel tower.

Foxwoods makes the list

Additionally, the nearby Foxwoods Resorts Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut also made the top ten list, finishing seventh. Connecticut’s other premier Native American gaming resort hosts 4,500 slot machines, 300 table games and the largest poker room on the East Coast.

As for 2016 USA Today 10Best top U.S. casino winner Pechanga Resort & Casino? The property fell to third this year. The Temecula, California casino property is in the middle of a $285 million expansion though.

Plus, coming in second this year was the classic Las Vegas, Nevada casino property Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Caesars takes up 85 acres of prime Las Vegas Strip real estate with a full-service resort property that includes an almost 125,000-square-foot casino.

Las Vegas well-represented

Naturally, Las Vegas was represented on the Best U.S. Casino list by tenth-place Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa and eighth-place The Cromwell.

The popular Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa is ten miles off the strip near the Red Rock Mountains in Summerlin, NV. It hosts 3,000 casino slots and video poker machines, 60 table games, and a 20-table poker room.

The Cromwell replaced the aging Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon across the street from Caesars Palace in 2014, following a $185 million renovation. The Caesars Entertainment Corporation-owned property features a 40,000-square-foot casino with 440 slot machines and 66 table games.

Fourth place on the list went to the only Louisiana casino represented. The L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisiana boasts 70,000-square-feet of gaming space with 70 table games, 1,600 slots and a seven-table poker room.

Atlantic City’s Borgata takes fifth

In Atlantic City, the top-grossing Borgata has more than 160,000 square feet of gaming space with 3,500 slot machines, 250 table games, and Atlantic City’s largest poker room.

Finishing sixth on this year’s list was Reno, Nevada’s Peppermill Resort Spa Casino. The property has 1,500 slots, close to 50 table games, a keno lounge, poker room, and a sports theater.

Ninth place went to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa. This Hard Rock casino property features 835 slots and 26 table games.

Here’s the complete USA Today 10Best Reader’s Choice 2017 Best U.S. Casino list:

1. Mohegan Sun – Uncasville, CT
2. Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel & Casino – Las Vegas, NV
3. Pechanga Resort & Casino – Temecula, CA
4. L’Auberge Casino Resort – Lake Charles, LA
5. Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa – Atlantic City, NJ
6. Peppermill Resort Spa Casino – Reno, NV
7. Foxwoods Resort Casino – Mashantucket, CT
8. The Cromwell Hotel – Las Vegas, NV
9. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Sioux City, IA
10. Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa – Las Vegas, NV

Photo by chrisdorney / Shutterstock.com

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