Mohegans release few details of grand expansion

Really high.

In fact, when completed the 480-feet, 40-story hotel and casino expansion will be one of the tallest structures in the state.

The tribe intends to unveil details of the $800 million expansion - dubbed Project Sunburst - at a news conference Wednesday in New York.

But what is already apparent is that the tribe's casino, coupled with the rapid growth of its predecessor, the Foxwoods Resort Casino, is changing the face of eastern Connecticut.

Foxwoods, run by the Mashantucket Pequots, and Mohegan Sun have added skyscrapers of glass and steel to the rolling, forested hills. Developers build vertically for a reason, according to one architect.

"High rises are for two purposes: either to hold a lot people or for the view," said Milton Lewis Howard, owner and president of Milton Lewis Howard & Associates of Bloomfield. "This isn't a compacted area where land is scarce. Here, we have a beautiful setting and a tremendous view."

Indulgence will come at a steep price, said Howard, who estimates that a suite with a view at Mohegan Sun could run as high as $2,000-a-night. Officials at Foxwoods declined to quote a specific price for their rooms with a view, but comparable rooms in Las Vegas' top casinos go for $5,000 a night.

Construction has been going on 24-hours a day, seven days a week at one of the two casinos since Foxwoods was opened seven years ago. With a combined 700,000 square feet of gaming space, the two casinos rival Atlantic City. The New Jersey gamblers' haven has 1 million square feet of gaming space.

Project Sunburst is expected to open by April 2002.

Some residents are awaiting that date with trepidation, fearing the onslaught of traffic and crime.

"It's not like it used to be," said Joseph Comeroski, who has lived in his home about 20 minutes from the casino for 40 years. "I am mostly angry at the out-of-towners ... They're in a hurry to get there and then when they lose, they're in a hurry to get out of there.

"I feel they've destroyed what used to be a nice quiet community," he said. "It's not a sleepy village anymore."

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