Category: Mohegan

The Las Vegas gambling scene is beginning to experience new signs of life following the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Las Vegas Casinos Say They Are Doing Well As They Rebound

On Thursday, two Las Vegas casinos told the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) that they are doing well after the industry rebound from the pandemic. That’s a good thing, too, because one of them has to pay a $60,000 fine for violating COVID-19 protocols.

During the meeting, the NGC signed a settlement with the Mohegan Sun Casino in Virgin Hotels Las Vegas for violating the state’s protocols on March 25. The Mohegan Sun, based in Connecticut, operates the new Mohegan Sun Casino at Virgin Las Vegas, which opened in the place of the former Hard Rock Las Vegas.

The new CEO of Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, Ray Pineault, and the owner of Sahara Las Vegas, Alex Meruelo, were visiting with the commission this week to talk about what’s in store for the casinos as the recovery continued. In addition to settling the violation, and probably, in part, as a result, Pineault was certified as a key executive and manager of the property.  

COVID-19 Protocol Violations Lead to Several Fines

The casino’s COVID-19 violations were due to failure of social distancing and mask-wearing measures enforcement. The $60,000 is the largest single fine; however, it is still lower than the $75,000 fine issued last fall for protocol violations at the Sahara and Grand Sierra Resort.

Commission Chairman John T. Moran, Jr. said, “This is a long way away from some of the complaints we saw during this horrible time of COVID. There was outright defiance out there and continual violations. You guys ponied up, and everything went well.” His comments were directed at both Pineault and Meruelo for their respective transgressions.

Nevada’s…

Continue reading

 Added on 06/25/2021  NEPA Scene Staff  coronavirus , country , Mohegan Sun Arena , Wilkes-Barre

From a press release:

The Alabama concert set for Friday, July 23 at 7 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza will be the first live music event hosted inside the Wilkes-Barre Township venue since March 6, 2020. The arena will be at 100 percent capacity per the state of Pennsylvania’s loosening of restrictions on indoor venue capacities.

While it has been a long wait for live music to return, it has been an even longer wait for local fans of these Country Music Hall of Famers. First announced in October of 2018, the Alabama concert was originally postponed after vocalist/guitarist Randy Owen came down with “a severe sinus infection and an infected throat,” then again due to Owen’s “ongoing complications with cluster migraines and vertigo.” It was pushed to Oct. 2, 2020 due to the pandemic, but conditions across the country did not improve enough for the band’s 50th Anniversary Tour to continue at that time.

Additionally, The Charlie Daniels Band was booked to open the Wilkes-Barre show but the 83-year-old singer died of a stroke on July 6, 2020. Special guest Tracy Lawrence will now serve as the opening act.

All tickets purchased for the original performance dates will be honored on July 23. This includes any tickets for the previous dates in 2019 and 2020. A limited number of tickets, which start at $56, are still available at the NBT Bank Box Office at Mohegan Sun Arena (255 Highland Park Blvd.,…

Continue reading

Corey Samuels gave Isaiah Hokit a rude introduction to professional MMA Friday at Bellator 261 with a lightning-quick knockout.

Samuels (3-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) needed just 10 seconds to flatten massive betting favorite Hokit (0-1 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with punches, tying the record for the fourth fastest knockout in Bellator history in their lightweight bout at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

Check out the replay of the finish below (via Twitter):

Corey Samuels take a bow!
It took “Lightning Wolf” JUST 10 seconds to snatch the KO.

Tune in to the #Bellator261 prelims ▶️ https://t.co/YFLu9qDbr8 pic.twitter.com/4ezQd5XZZN

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) June 25, 2021

WOW! Corey Samuels

Tune in to the #Bellator261 prelims

▶️ https://t.co/YFLu9qDbr8 pic.twitter.com/GzifXrzJ1E

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) June 25, 2021

Hokit came into Bellator 261 with some hype behind him due to his amateur wrestling background. He didn’t get to showcase any of his grappling game, though. Samuels knocked him out before he could even get going.

For Samuels, it was the first win of his career stemming from strikes. He said he was prepared for Hokit’s wrestling, but was confident he could find the finish before it hit the ground.

“I knew I had the better striking, but we tried to prepare more so for wrestling,” Samuels said in his post-fight interview with John McCarthy. “I wanted to end it with a head kick, but my shin is a little messed up. So we decided to box him up, and that’s what happened.”

Photos: Bellator 261 ceremonial weigh-ins and faceoffs

…

Continue reading

Check out these photos highlighting all the action from Bellator 261 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. (Photos by Lucas Noonan, Bellator)

Soren Bak def. Bobby Lee

soren-bak-bobby-lee-bellator-261-3

Soren Bak def. Bobby Lee

soren-bak-bobby-lee-bellator-261-5

soren-bak-bobby-lee-bellator-261-6

soren-bak-bobby-lee-bellator-261-7

soren-bak-bobby-lee-bellator-261-9

soren-bak-bobby-lee-bellator-261-4

soren-bak-bobby-lee-bellator-261-8

Soren Bak

Corey Samuels def. Isaiah Hokit

Continue reading

Liz Carmouche wasted no time making her statement for a title shot at Bellator 261.

Not only did Carmouche (16-7 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) take the unbeaten record from Kana Watanabe (10-1-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA), but she did it in a mere 35 seconds, finishing the women’s flyweight co-headliner by knockout at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

WOW! That was PHENOMENAL from @iamgirlrilla.

All eyes on @JuVelasquezMMA vs. @Denisekielholtz #Bellator261 pic.twitter.com/TXCqNoBy7P

— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) June 26, 2021

The former UFC title challenger came out of the gate on fire. She pressured Watanabe and hurt her with a big right hand, forcing the Japanese fighter to back up against the fence.

Carmouche was relentless once she had Watanabe in trouble, throwing a flurry of strikes and tagging her opponent over and over. Although Watanabe didn’t go down, the referee decided he’d seen enough and waved it off.

It was Carmouche’s intention to deliver a memorable performance, and she did just that with the fastest win of her career. Now she wants the winner of the next title fight between Juliana Velasquez and Denise Kielholtz on July 17.

“I wanted that finish. I want that belt and I know tonight I needed to put on a strong finish,” Carmouche said in her post-fight interview with John McCarthy. “I wanted her, when she looks back at that loss on her record, she remembers me and a hard finish.”

The latest Bellator 261 results include:

• Liz Carmouche def. Kana Watanabe via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:35
• Sidney Outlaw def. Myles Jury via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:44
• Daniel Weichel def. Keoni Diggs via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
• Christian Edwards def. Simon Biyong via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

…

Continue reading

Bellator will be back on the road with perhaps the best fight it can put on at this moment.

Patricio “Pitbull” Freire will meet the undefeated AJ McKee in the final of the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix on July 31 in Inglewood, California, the promotion announced Wednesday. Freire will defend his Bellator featherweight title in the contest, and the winner — and tournament champion — will receive $1 million. A live crowd will be in attendance.

The card, named Bellator 263, will be the first domestic event held by the promotion outside Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, since Feb. 21, 2020. Mohegan Sun was the site of Bellator’s bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic. The promotion did run four shows overseas last fall.

2 Related

ESPN has Freire ranked No. 3 in the world at featherweight. McKee is currently unranked, but in 2019, ESPN ranked him the best fighter in the world under 25 years old. Freire beat Juan Archuleta, Pedro Carvalho and Emmanuel Sanchez in the grand prix to make the final. McKee defeated Georgi Karakhanyan, Derek Campos and Darrion Caldwell.

Freire (32-4) has the most wins in Bellator history (20) and seven successful title defenses over two reigns with the Bellator featherweight title. The Brazil native has won seven straight, four of those via finish. Freire, 33, is regarded as the best fighter in Bellator history. He has the most wins in Bellator title fights (10), the most title fights (12) and is tied with Michael Chandler for the most finishes (13) in the promotion.

McKee (17-0) is one of the best young fighters in the world. The Los Angeles native made his Bellator debut in 2015 and has never lost, with 12 of his 17 wins coming via finish. He…

Continue reading

NORWICH — If anyone was in Greeneville on Wednesday morning, then they would’ve seen groups of volunteers and Norwich Public Works employees painting flag-colored patterns by the street crossings on parts of Central Avenue. While it makes the natural appearance of the asphalt a little more lively, the painting does more than serve as art.

The road paintings, called pedestrian bump-outs, are supposed to make crossing the street safer, said Assistant City Planner Dan Daniska. The project, which was funded by a grant from the state Department of Health and the CDC and approved back in late 2019, was held off due to cold weather and later the pandemic, but was finally started on Wednesday.

Daniska said the colorful flag designs, suggested by the community to reflect the diversity of the neighborhood, are meant to keep cars from parking close to the sidewalks, and make the crossing distance shorter for pedestrians.

“We’re hoping to calm traffic and make it safer for everyone out here,” Daniska said.

The flag designs range from the U.S. and Puerto Rican flags, to the Mohegan and Cape Verdean flags, with 13 different flags total being represented.

“It became clear that this is a multicultural neighborhood, so we want the streets to feel welcoming and inclusive to everybody,” said Mike Lydon, principal with StreetPlans, the contractor working with Norwich on this project.

More: Norwich Juneteenth Day event back for 32nd year on Friday

Daniska also felt the volunteer aspect is important because it means the community will care about it.

“It’s something you can physically see right away, so that is kind of…

Continue reading

KILLINGLY — A proposed state budget implementer bill that, if approved, would withhold funding from municipalities whose schools boast Native American mascots and logos would not directly affect the budget of the Killingly school board – which has sole discretion on the fate of a controversial mascot —  but rather the town’s revenue stream.   

The bill, which passed the state House of Representatives on Wednesday, calls for precluding a municipality from receiving grant monies from the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Fund if schools under the jurisdiction of a board of education continue to use “any name, symbol or image that depicts, refers to or is associated with a state or federally recognized Native American tribe or a Native American individual custom or tradition, as a mascot, nickname, logo or team name.”

Killingly is one of 12 municipalities in the state with a school whose mascot – the Killingly High School’s Redmen – fits the bill’s definition.

More: Killingly High School graduation held right in their own backyard

If no strides are taken to change the name by 2023, the town will be prohibited from receiving tribe-generated funding, which Town Manager Mary Calorio pegged at $94,184 for the upcoming fiscal year and the same amount for fiscal year 2022-23.

The Pequot Mohegan Fund is replenished through a portion of slot revenues generated at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos with about $50 million a year distributed to municipalities through grants. 

The town’s high school sports moniker has undergone a whiplash process in recent years. In 2019, the Board of Education, which holds authority on the issue, overwhelmingly voted to take steps to get rid of the Redmen name after a heated, hours-long meeting in which opponents of the mascot characterized it as racist and offensive.

That decision triggered a political sea-change on the board after voters months later elected several new…

Continue reading

A pair of heavyweight fights are among the latest additions to next month’s Bellator 262 event.

Matt Mitrione (13-8 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) is set to take on Tyrell Fortune (10-1 MMA, 10-1 BMMA) in a rebooking after Mitrione withdrew from their original matchup at Bellator 255 in April. Plus, Marcelo Golm (8-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) will meet former title challenger Linton Vassell (21-8 MMA, 9-5 BMMA) on the main card.

Promotion officials announced the new bookings Thursday. Bellator 262 takes place July 16 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

In addition, Bellator announced three new fights for the prelims. Arlene Blencowe (13-8 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) will meet Dayana Silva (9-6 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) in a women’s featherweight bout; Ronny Markes (19-8 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) takes on Said Sowma (6-2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) at heavyweight; and Adil Benjilany (5-3 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) vs. Johnny Soto (4-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is lined up at featherweight.

Mitrione will try to snap a three-fight skid, the worst slump of his career. After coming to Bellator from the UFC in 2016, the former NFL player won his first four fights in the promotion, including a stoppage of Fedor Emelianenko and a win over fellow “Ultimate Fighter 10” cast member Roy Nelson.

But his slide started with a loss to Ryan Bader in Bellator’s heavyweight tournament, then a TKO setback in a rematch with Sergei Kharitonov after a no contest six months prior and a first-round TKO loss to Tim Johnson in September 2020.

Fortune started his career 8-0, all with Bellator, and was on a four-fight finishing streak when he was upset by Johnson at Bellator 239 in February 2020. After a no…

Continue reading