Mohegan Casino Las Vegas — Hotel in Paradise

This must be the most boring looking casino I've ever seen. I finally had a chance to stop by and see what was going on. This used to be the Hard Rock Hotel. Frankly, I think that's what hurts my grade so much. The Hard Rock was SO exciting. So entertaining. You WANTED to come back again and again to see what was new. Now, I've seen this place. I have no reason to go EVER again. I entered through the north parking garage. It was actually pretty nice because even on a Saturday afternoon, there were PLENTY of parking spaces AND parking was free. Bonus points! Love it! I guess this north entrance is where they have lots of convention space now, so it's just boring plain walls. Gone is all the rock and roll memorabilia. There's hardly any signage or artwork. Nothing say about the history of Mohegan Sun Casinos, or really anything. The reason I think it's the convention area is I saw well-dressed people walking around with lanyard badges.

There's a snack bar/convenience store. Of course, there's no more gift shop. I don't even recall the restrooms near where Vinyl used to be, which used to be INCREDIBLE to see. The famous restaurant with the amazing name, Pink Tacos? Gone. It's been replaced with Casa Calavera. It looks nice. Maybe it's good. I could see trying it out. It doesn't appear to be anything near as good as Pink Tacos, though. I didn't see them making homemade tortillas near the entrance.

The Vinyl concert venue and bar seems to have been replaced by an ice cream shop. Now, you see the casino, which is: a casino. Think of the most boring casino you can think of and this is it. It's new. It's nice. It has no pizazz. I don't expect it to have dancing rock and roll girls like the hard rock (or even The D Hotel), but there aren't any beautiful plants/flowers like The Mirage. It's brightly lit, which is a plus, as well as very clean, but it had nothing which made me walk around. There were people there, but like another reviewer said, it was all very quiet. The casino looks like a big box room like a warehouse or convention hall. Paint the walls a pretty color, then put a bunch of slot machines around. Maybe a few tables. That was it.

I didn't see where the Joint venue used to be. I saw a sign where they have upcoming concerts: Carly Rae Jepsen and Steve-O (from Jackass, I think?). No one else I'd ever heard of. Maybe they're now calling The Joint "The Theater", since that's where those people are performing but they're not really looking to have any acts worth watching.

I walked through the entire casino floor, past NOBU (still there! 👏) and back again. There weren't any restaurants exciting to try. I'd heard Mohegan Sun's in other states might have a Bobby Flay or Michael Jordan restaurant. None to be seen here.

I also walked through the pool area (open to the public, apparently). It's no beach club, but a simple hotel pool. Lots of families there looking like regular everyday people, rather than supermodels and Chippendales. It had a fair amount of people there and everyone looked like they were having fun, enjoying themselves. There's an nice-looking bar there, but I didn't stop to see about drink prices (I was kind of scared, actually). I also didn't observe any signs on the bar advertising drink/cocktail specials, so maybe they're just a simple bar serving beer and regular cocktails: no specialties.

Mohegan Sun was the first casino I've ever been in which was operated by a tribal nation. As I think I've explained, it is very ho-hum and not worth seeing. Again, full disclosure, I really believe part of the unappealing quality is because the Hard Rock was SUCH an experience. If you're going to gamble, maybe you enjoy seeing a plain-jane, quiet, boring but clean casino. The Silver Nugget in North Las Vegas is the same: very plain-jane big box room with slot machines, BUT it's not as clean as Mohegan Sun. It's not as brightly lit. So, sure, Mohegan Sun is better than the Silver Nugget, in that regard.

I wonder if Mohegan Sun has the same great food, prices, and...

So as it’s customary to visit a new casino as a diehard vegas resident who loves the excitement and fun of playing tourist on a regular basis , I felt obligated to check out the new Mohegan Sun Indian tribal casino on its opening night . As we arrived ,the valet parking was open and available, a huge plus ! So we ventured inside and found the layout somewhat open in certain spots but twisty and confusing in other areas. The place was busy but there where many places to sit and take in the desert sage aroma infused into the casino . So as expected , our party decided to try the new slot machines . There were a decent number of machines available, some older and some new. The older machines are probably left over from the Hard Rick casino or brought in by the tribe. What I mean by older , are the slot machines that have one foot in the grave but still alive and they have a good track record of being cash cows . On several occasions, the slot machines malfunctioned and we had to wait a long time to have a slot attendant fix it . we were a bit frustrated by the long Wait but had no choice but to try to cash out on a machine where the wheels did not want to stop turning . The slot attendant could not fix it and angrily slammed the machine shut and left us hanging. We tried to find someone else to fix the problem, to no avail. The slot attendants wore gray / black clothing with no name tag or identification. Very hard to spot them . So we left that area with credits still in the slot machine . Out next attempt was to play some of the new slot machines , at least they wouldn’t break down ! Right ? Well , we felt as though , we were being robbed by the Indian casino’s one arm bandit from hell . On several occasions, it seemed as though the wheels would stop on a winning combination, but a split second later , would move to a non wining position. We were flabbergasted . It reminded my girlfriend of the slot machines at tribal casinos In California. She said they did a very similar move . After spending over $2000 amongst our group of 3 people ,we decided to visit the cashier to get more cash . After waiting over 35 minutes and not getting to the cashier , we decided to get a drink . The cocktail service was slow and inefficient. Las Vegas is known for their great bartenders and cocktail servers .we did not feel that they measured up at all . Poor drink service all over the casino was the norm . As far as all the hoopla about all the dining options , there wasn’t any way we were going to get anything , since the service was slow at best and impossible to even get a quick bite . So the group consensus was to part with the Moheghan’s . So we headed out to the valet , they got our car in no time and as we were chatting with the valet staff, we felt like we were still in Las Vegas and the good old days! The valet was our best experience, hands down! The rest is a typical tribal casino( first one in Las Vegas) who is out to get every penny out of you without blinking twice and give you zero pleasure while doing it , the old saying “ BOHICA” which in tribal dictionary means: Bend over here it comes again “ comes to mind . Enjoy Las Vegas , pass on The Moheghan’s...

This casino is not like the Hard Rock but that's not saying it's worse. This casino has a lot to offer in such a small area. They have new slots and blackjack tables. The minimums are pretty standard $10. You can only play bar-top video poker machines at Desert Star Bar & Heat Bar (Inside the High Limit Tables) because Virgin doesn't have a gaming license. So "The Bar at the Commons Club" in the front lobby doesn't have bar top gaming because that's a "Virgin" bar, not a Mohegan Sun owned bar. It's very confusing considering it's the same property. But for what they have it's nice.

Besides opening night when it was slammed with people you can pretty much play at any slot or table now, there are open seats. It's not the casino but there is plenty of nice restaurants around the property to grab something to eat or drink in-between gambling. They have pretty good music playing over the speakers, it's all top-100 hits and some house music. Music is on the loud side but I kind of like it because it drowns out the repetitive slot noise.

I did find it odd that the Players Club (Momentum) is the same windows as the cage. Pro: If I need to do something with my players club card and exchange chips I can do it all in 1 trip. Instead of going to 2 separate locations like other casinos. Con: If I'm just trying to get something done quickly like exchange chips, I might have someone in front of me just trying to sign up for a players card and now I have to wait. I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

For the space they have they make the most of it, to compare it to like MGM or Circa is just not the same level. Both of those properties have way more space to work with and offer. Mohegan Sun is definitely a different vibe than the old Hard Rock but different doesn't always mean bad. It's just now a different vibe for everyone to get used to. Not everyone liked Hard Rock when it first opened either but eventually people started to love it. I think the same will happen here. But if you are looking for a small to a midsize casino to hang out and play at this is the...