Thousands Wait for Slot Machine Opening

Literally thousands of people waited in the drizzle and cold to be one of the first patrons of the first slot machine casino in Pennsylvania. Some admitted they had stood in line for over an hour, others said they had been there for more than an hour, just waiting for the chance to play the slot machines.

“Is everybody ready to play some slots?” Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs President and Chief Executive Robert Soper said right before he pulled the arm on a fake slot machine and sent confetti over the crowd. No one knew how big the opening of the slot machine casino would be, but this was definitely bigger than anticipated. Within the first hour alone, more than 1,500 people had entered the casino, with all 1,083 slot machines having players within minutes of opening.

Anytime someone left a slot machine, the seat was quickly grabbed, with more waiting behind them. It became quickly obvious that the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs had done what it had set out to do – create a successful slot machine casino in Pennsylvania. “This is a great day for Pennsylvania. This is a great day for the Mohegan Tribe,” said Bruce “Two Dogs” Bozsum, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority.

There were slot machine players from around the state, as well as local areas such as Pittston which is just across the bridge from Wilkes-Barre. More than 14,000 customers came to play the slot machines by the end of the day, and there will be more to come tomorrow.

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