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Mohegans announce support for Yale plan to combat problem gambling

Mohegan — Mohegan Sun’s tribal owners announced Tuesday that over the next five years they will invest $2 million in the Yale School of Medicine’s ongoing development of an app-based program aimed at treating problem gambling through a process known as cognitive behavioral therapy.

The announcement came at a news media event at the Mohegan Community and Government Center on Crow Hill Road.

“This will revolutionize the treatment of problem gambling,” said Ray Pineault, president and chief executive officer of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, the casino’s corporate parent.

Pineault and Mohegan tribal leaders were joined by Yale School of Medicine officials, the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association and representatives of Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration.

The Mohegan Tribe’s investment represents part of its response to the 2021 legislation that legalized online casino gaming and sports betting in the state. The tribe also has increased its $300,000-a-year contribution to the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling and has contributed more than $10 million to problem-gambling programs and services since Mohegan Sun’s 1996 opening, Pineault said.

Proven effective in the treatment of depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions, including substance abuse, cognitive behavioral therapy, commonly known as CBT, has yet to be applied to gambling addiction.

Brian Kiluk, an associate professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, said the Mohegan investment will enable Yale researchers to adapt a computer-based CBT program a Yale team developed years ago to treat substance abuse and dependence. Kiluk, a member of that team, said a goal of an app-based program designed to treat problem gambling will be to reach underserved populations.

A form of talk therapy, CBT deals with patterns of thinking and beliefs and seeks to help people recognize…

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Rehabbing UConn women’s basketball players Caroline Ducharme, Dorka Juhász pull up courtside at Connecticut Sun game

UNCASVILLE — UConn women’s basketball players Caroline Ducharme and Dorka Juhász were sitting courtside to soak in Tuesday night’s WNBA game between the Connecticut Sun and Dallas Wings at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The two Huskies, who have remained in Storrs to continue their injury rehab, said they’ve been watching WNBA games together every night.

Ducharme, a guard, had surgery on her left hip in late April to repair an injury from high school that she played through in her freshman season in 2021-22. Juhász, a forward, had fractured her wrist during the NCAA Tournament.

Juhász just had her cast removed on Tuesday and Ducharme has progressed from two crutches to one. They were able to celebrate their progress with their first fun night out since beginning the rehab process.

“We’ve been planning to come to [see the] Connecticut Sun, but this was the game that we were able to actually get here, so we were super excited,” Juhász said. “It’s different when you’re watching a team and being in person. That’s both of our goals, is to play in the WNBA, so following all the games and just seeing them in person it’s just always awesome to see. We love to support other women’s sports and we’re very happy to be here.”

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Mohegan Tribe, Yale University join forces to combat problem gambling

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Mohegans announce support for Yale plan to combat problem gambling

May 24—MOHEGAN — Mohegan Sun’s tribal owners announced Tuesday that over the next five years they will invest $2 million in the Yale School of Medicine’s ongoing development of an app-based program aimed at treating problem gambling through a process known as cognitive behavioral therapy.

The announcement came at a news media event at the Mohegan Community and Government Center on Crow Hill Road.

“This will revolutionize the treatment of problem gambling,” said Ray Pineault, president and chief executive officer of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment, the casino’s corporate parent.

Pineault and Mohegan tribal leaders were joined by Yale School of Medicine officials, the executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association and representatives of Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration.

The Mohegan Tribe’s investment represents part of its response to the 2021 legislation that legalized online casino gaming and sports betting in the state. The tribe also has increased its $300,000-a-year contribution to the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling and has contributed more than $10 million to problem-gambling programs and services since Mohegan Sun’s 1996 opening, Pineault said.

Proven effective in the treatment of depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions, including substance abuse, cognitive behavioral therapy, commonly known as CBT, has yet to be applied to gambling addiction.

Brian Kiluk, an associate professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, said the Mohegan investment will enable Yale researchers to adapt a computer-based CBT program a Yale team developed years ago to treat substance abuse and dependence. Kiluk, a member of that team, said a goal of an app-based program designed to treat problem gambling will be to reach underserved populations.

A form of talk therapy, CBT deals with patterns of thinking and beliefs and seeks to help people recognize the “triggers” for their problematic behavior and strategize…

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Jasmine Thomas’ absence creates defensive void; Sun struggle in 85-77 loss to Wings

UNCASVILLE — Several hours before Tuesday night’s game against the Dallas Wings, the Connecticut Sun announced that star Jasmine Thomas, the team’s starting point guard and de facto leader for the last seven seasons, would be out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in her right knee.

The Sun had looked like one of the most dominant teams in the WNBA up until then. But the devastating news of the injury appeared, at least on the surface, to put their hopes of finally capturing their first WNBA championship, which had narrowly slipped from their fingers in each of the last few years, at risk.

The effects of Thomas’ absence showed as the Sun went on to drop their first game since opening night, a 85-77 loss to the Wings at Mohegan Sun Arena.

“It’s tough seeing our point guard go down,” Brionna Jones said. “The leadership that she brings on the court, she keeps us together, she runs the team on the court when she’s out there. …. We just gotta figure out a way to get that same energy, same leadership — she’s bringing it on on the bench as much as she can — but we just gotta still find that groove.”

Thomas’ defensive leadership was especially missed, as Connecticut (4-2) allowed Dallas guards Marina Mabrey and Arike Ogunbowale to combine for 36 points and seven rebounds.

Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones and Brionna Jones each scored 13 points for Connecticut, with Alyssa Thomas also adding nine assists and eight rebounds, and Jonquel Jones pulling down 12 rebounds. Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman each had 11 points.

Head coach and general manager Curt Miller elected to remain with a lineup featuring two ball-handling guards and keep forward Brionna Jones as his top option off the bench, replacing Jasmine Thomas with Hiedeman…

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Mohegan Tribe Partners with Yale to Combat Problem Gambling through Digital Therapy

The Mohegan Tribe has always been invested in supporting and developing health programs in Connecticut and this is just the newest addition to the list of their contributions. CBT is a very digital-friendly form of therapy, so there is great promise in this endeavor.

In the age of digitalization, all businesses are looking into ways to find more value by making the switch and expanding further and faster. Ever since online gaming and sports betting became legal in Connecticut, taking more preventative and therapeutic initiatives to combat problem gambling has become a new focal point for organizations such as the Connecticut Lottery and tribal casinos. For the Mohegan Tribe, this applies to finding ways to help the community and give back as Mohegan is looking at contributing $2 million to Yale University for developing a comprehensive approach to helping people combat problem gambling.

The money will be assimilated through the Department of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and will be used to develop a new digital program for providing CBT services. On the user’s side, this will be the interface of a downloadable mobile app that provides the developed CBT tools to assist them. And, on the backend, this will be the work of Yale School of Medicine scientific staff and researchers who have been leading the way in digital healthcare tools for years.

Why Yale Is A Great Partner

Yale University and their School of Medicine in particular have been heavily focusing on research and development of digital-assisted or entirely computer-based therapeutic tools for treating substance abuse. Brian Kiluk, associate professor of psychiatry at YSM has commented that “using digital platforms such as mobile phones to provide treatment offers the potential to get help to more people.”

This approach applies not only to a specific tool but…

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Delle Donne reaches 4,000 points as Mystics beat Dream

Elena Delle Donne scored 15 points to reach 4,000 for her career and the Washington Mystics beat the Atlanta Dream 70-50 on Tuesday night.

Delle Donne entered needing 15 points to become the 40th player to reach the milestone. She was 7 of 13 from the field and had three of Washington’s seven blocked shots.

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Washington took control in the third quarter, outscoring Atlanta 20-8 to help build a 54-33 lead.

Kennedy Burke added 13 points for Washington (6-2), which was without coach Mike Thibault due to personal reasons. Alysha Clark scored 11 points and Ariel Atkins had 10.

Atlanta shot just 35.7%, including 4 of 21 from distance, and turned it over 23 times.

Rookie Rhyne Howard, the league’s leading scorer at 20.5 points per game, missed all nine of her shots and was scoreless in 29 minutes for Atlanta (4-3).

WINGS 85, SUN 77

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Marina Mabrey scored 20 points, Allisha Gray had 17 points and eight rebounds, and the Wings beat the Sun for their fourth straight road victory.

Dallas trailed 38-27 at halftime before taking its first lead since the opening minutes late in the third quarter. Mabrey capped a 12-2 run with a 3-pointer to help Dallas take a 53-51 lead.

Arike Ogunbowale added 16 points for Dallas (5-2). Kayla Thornton grabbed 10 rebounds and Isabelle Harrison had nine points and eight rebounds. Mabrey made three 3-pointers and reached 20 points for the third time this season.

Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones and Brionna Jones each scored 13 points for Connecticut (4-2), which had a four-game winning streak snapped.

SKY 95, FEVER 90

CHICAGO — Candace Parker had 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists, Azura Stevens added 15 points, and the Sky beat the Fever.

Parker, coming off her second…

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Yale, Mohegan Sun partnering to develop mobile app to address gambling addiction

The Mohegan Tribe this week announced a $2 million partnership with Yale University to develop and test a treatment model for gambling addiction that has proven effective in addressing alcohol and drug use disorders.

The funding comes amid a surge in calls to the state’s problem-gambling hotline following the start of sports betting and online casino gaming in Connecticut last fall.

Representatives from Mohegan highlighted the initiative as part of a larger $10 million investment the tribe has made in addressing gambling addiction since it opened Mohegan Sun in 1996. The tribe also makes an annual contribution of more than $300,000 to the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling.

“Our intent is not to limit this to Connecticut residents. This could become a new form of treatment for anybody with problem gambling throughout the United States,” said Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment CEO Ray Pineault.

Under the partnership, researchers at Yale will spend the next several years developing and testing a mobile application to provide cognitive behavior therapy to people with gambling issues. Cognitive behavior therapy, or CBT, is based on the idea that thoughts and perceptions influence behavior.

Researchers will spend two years developing the app and then three years conducting a clinical trial involving about 100 participants. Brian Kiluk, associate professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, said the rigorous vetting process is what will differentiate the app from others currently available.

Kiluk is part of a team at Yale that has tested the effectiveness of computer-based therapy programs to treat substance use disorders. He said the app would help broaden access to problem gambling treatment given it would be available to anyone with a smartphone.

Connecticut’s largest…

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Trot record for season tied at The Downs

WILKES-BARRE, PA – The Chapter Seven gelding Incommunicado, despite being off for over six months, tied the fastest trotting time of the year at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, 1:52.2, in winning the $17,500 trotting portion of the Saturday co-featured harness racing events.

Incommunicado and driver George Napolitano, Jr. (Curtis Salonick photo)

The four-year-old, a winner of over $200,000 at both two and three, was sent right to the front by George Napolitano Jr., putting foes behind in a :27 opener, resting to the half in :56.3, and then speeding up to hit the three-quarters in 1:24.3. Dee’s Red Delicious gave valiant chase from the pocket, but Incommunicado still had a :27.4 kicker in him to win by a half length for trainer Åke Svanstedt and the partnership of Knutsson Trotting Inc., Little E LLC, Arthur Geiger, and David Stolz.

INCOMMUNICADO REPLAY

In the $17,500 pacing side of the headliners, Tito Rocks, the odds-on favorite, was between War-N-Munn to his left and Rogerthat Bluechip to a :26.4 quarter before taking command.

Jason Bartlett let Rogerthat Bluechip go on to the lead, but was quick to reclaim the front with the victorious Sweet Lou gelding, putting up middle splits of :55.3 and 1:22.4 without too much pressure.

Into the stretch Tito Rocks was looking good, but he needed late Bartlett rocking to hold off the railshooting War-N-Munn by a length in 1:51.1 and run his earnings to $308,152 for trainer Robert Cleary and Royal Wire Products Inc.

TITO ROCKS REPLAY

Go West Go Fast again tied the Pocono track record for highest-priced claim ever when for the fourth straight race he was taken for the $40,000 claiming price. On Saturday, Go West Go Fast…

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Sun need to be more efficient in rematch against Indiana

Mohegan — Connecticut Sun head coach Curt Miller was asked after Friday night’s win over the Indiana Fever if he thought his team settled for too many 3-pointers early in the game.

“Were you in the (team) huddle?,” he said with a grin.

The Sun won yet another home game and scored over 90 points, but did so without having the kind of consistent, efficient play that they expect from themselves.

Connecticut and the Fever conclude their home-and-home series Sunday at Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse (2 p.m., NESN Plus).

The Sun (3-1) will be shorthanded because starting forward DeWanna Bonner stayed home to rest. She arrived back in the country on May 13 having finished her off-season overseas commitments with CBK Mersin the day before in Istanbul, Turkey.

Bonner has played twice for Connecticut and scored 18 on Friday night, including making all four of her 3-pointers, with four assists in a 94-85 win. She has dealt with jet lag, and the team is at the beginning of a furious stretch in which they’ll play eight games in 15 days with the final four games on the road.

The Sun beat Indiana despite a clunky start offensively. They shot just 31.2 percent in the first 10 minutes, including missing 4 of 7 threes and two layup attempts.

It didn’t help that reserve post Brionna Jones was limited to under four minutes in the first half because of three fouls.

Connecticut shot much better over the final three quarters (47.3 percent).

“I want to pull my hair out,” Miller said. “I’m frustrated that I couldn’t push buttons for them throughout the game offensively and we scored over 90, but we didn’t do it as efficiently (as they could) and that’s where I feel frustrated as a coach; that I couldn’t help them be more efficient.

“People (may)…

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