Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket was named the best casino in the country outside of Las Vegas by USA Today’s 10 Best Readers' Choice Awards, the casino announced on Tuesday.

Other casinos on the 10 Best list are in Atlantic City, Reno, Tucson, Tampa, Temecula, California and, at No. 10, Mohegan Sun in Uncasville. There are more than 1,500 casinos in the United States.

The nominees were chosen by casino experts Steve Bourie, C. Douglas Dreisbach and Lisa Robertson-Dziedzic. The public voted on those nominees. Foxwoods is a repeat winner, also claiming the No. 1 spot in the poll in 2018.

“I can’t tell you how ecstatic we are. We truly believe that we are the best casino. This is validation for that,” said Jason Guyot, interim CEO and senior vice president of resort operations. “We’ve been going through a difficult time in the industry and in the nation. So we’re extremely excited.”

Foxwoods reopened June 1 after having been closed for 2 and a half months under coronavirus regulations.
Guyot said the resort has put “a little over 2,000” employees on furlough since mid-March. Casino spokeswoman Ali Parisi added that “Foxwoods has brought back about 2,500 team members who are currently employed at the resort. Approximately 500 additional team members declined returning.”

“It’s been tough for everyone. As we, through the closure reworked our staffing model, opened with a condensed footprint, it allowed us to reduce expenses,” Guyot said. “Revenues are off compared to last year, but we’ve been able to maintain a good margin.” He did not provide specific numbers.

Since reopening, the casino has limited capacities to 25%, and currently offers indoor dining, outlet shopping, bingo and gambling in four casinos, two of them 24/7 and the others noon to 2 a.m. daily. Poker, keno and the Rainmaker Buffet are closed. Table games are limited to four players.

Temperature checks and face masks are required and there is no valet parking or charter buses bringing guests to the casino. The resort has been remodeled with plexiglass barriers and about 350 hand-sanitizing stations.

The resort keeps a list of states whose residents must meet certain criteria to be allowed for multi-day stays. That list is updated frequently. Details: foxwoods.com/welcomeback.
Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.

This article is a reprint from Courant.com. To view the original story and comment, click here.