Foxwoods officials announced Wednesday the casino will expand and upgrade its poker room with a nearly 50 percent increase in poker tables. The expansion, which will bring the table total to 114, is scheduled to open next spring.
The announcement comes as the casino begins hosting the World Poker Finals today, where diehard gamblers and hopeful players already have begun signing up for buy-in satellite tournaments. Foxwoods hosts televised poker tournament events with million-dollar stakes each year, in addition to its smaller weekly tournaments.
Among those waiting to play was Jason Warburton, 30, of Warwick, R.I. Warburton said he spends about 10-12 hours a week playing poker with friends, in tournaments or online.
"I think it's long overdue," Warburton said of the expansion plans.
Kathy Raymond, director of poker operations, said Foxwoods has been discussing a poker expansion for "a while," after observing the growth of the poker industry. The poker room will increase by one-third after it trades floor space with 650 slot machines directly below it.
On weekends, the poker room's 76, 10-seat tables are at about 100 percent capacity, Mark Rathbun, poker room day shift manager, said. Weekday capacity runs about 85 percent. In a typical 8-hour work shift, Rathbun sees about 2,000 players in the poker room.
Foxwoods had 49 tables when the casino opened in 1992.
"It was more an amenity," Raymond said. "But in the last couple years, it's brought to the table a different kind of benefit with the public relations and the marketing capabilities with poker right now."
The new smoke-free room and tables will be designed to accommodate more players and ease game sign-up lines. New poker tables will include technological upgrades such as LED table components, automatic card shufflers and electronic seat monitoring system to speed the seat turnover rate.
Poker does not bring in as large a profit margin as slot machines, but the game draws people to the casino.
"We do hold our own most definitely, but I think the added value poker has given drawing players in, our management at Foxwoods has been savvy enough to recognize the value," Raymond said.
Foxwoods is now the only poker venue in New England, casino officials said. Mohegan Sun replaced its 39 poker tables with slot machines in 2003.
Mohegan Sun CEO Mitchell Etess said he does not foresee the casino getting back into poker.
"We still don't believe it's the right business decision at this point in time," Etess said. "We look at how much space we have available and look at the best way to utilize that space."
