Mohegan Tribe dethrones Pechanga Band to win USA Today poll of casinos

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

The Hall of the Lost Tribes at Mohegan Sun, a gaming facility owned and operated by the Mohegan Tribe in Uncasville, Connecticut, Photo by Indianz.Com (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Call it a battle of East vs. West as the Mohegan Tribe dethroned the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians to win USA Today's poll of best casinos in the United States.

The Mohegan Sun in Connecticut secured the number one slot in the 10Best Readers Choice Travel Awards for 2017. The Pechanga Resort and Casino in California, on the other hand, fell to third place.

“We’re honored to have topped that list; it’s a testament to our whole team and how driven we are to provide the best possible entertainment and gaming attraction we can,” Ray Pineault, the president and general manager of Mohegan Sun, told FOX61.

But it wasn't all good news for the East Coast. The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation fell from third to seventh place with its Foxwoods Resort Casino, also in Connecticut.

Overall, the top 10 winners represented a big change from 2015, when the list was last published. Back then, tribes took 5 of the slots -- this time, only 3 Indian gaming facilities made it.

The full 10Best list from USA Today follows:

Mohegan Sun - Uncasville, Conn.
Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas
Pechanga Resort & Casino - Temecula, Calif.
L'Auberge Casino Resort - Lake Charles, La.
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa - Atlantic City
Peppermill Resort Spa Casino - Reno
Foxwoods Resort Casino - Mashantucket, Conn.
The Cromwell Hotel - Las Vegas
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Sioux City, Iowa
Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa - Las Vegas

Read More on the Story:
Readers rank Mohegan Sun #1 casino in the U.S (FOX61 7/26)