May 22, 2013 | Entertainment, Food & Beverage, Gaming, General News, Hot Summer Fun, Racing, Special Events
Fifth annual Hot Summer Fun kicks off May 26th for a season long, Seven-day-a-week celebration of Summer
Hot! Hot! Hot! Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs is heating things up this summer with their 5th annual Hot Summer Fun celebration. From May 26th through September 2nd, the calendar is packed with exciting giveaways, promotions, tournaments, dining deals, events, fireworks and so much more!
Each day of the week brings a new opportunity at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs beginning with Live it Up Mondays. In June, Player’s Club Card members over the age of 55 can insert their cards into their favorite slot machines every Monday from 6:00am to Midnight for their chance to win a Silver Linings Surprise of instant Free Slot Play. One lucky winner each Monday throughout the month will also take home $555.00 in cash! Guests who are 55+ can also enjoy the breakfast in Timbers Buffet each Monday in June for the special price of $5.55 with a Player’s Club Card. Guests under the age of 55 can also enjoy the breakfast buffet for just $9.99. In July and August, guests who are aged 55 years and older can cure a case of the Mondays with FREE Rise and Shine Slot Tournaments from 9:00am until Noon where guests will have the chance to win up to $500.00 cash. These tournaments are sure to be popular so be sure to arrive early!
Double down every Tuesday with Two for Tuesdays! Each Tuesday in June, guests can earn double the points all day long while playing their favorite slot machines. Two guests every hour will be chosen to win $222.00 in Free Slot Play if they are sitting in the Hot Seat. Additionally, at 8:00pm, one lucky winner will win $2,200 in Free Slot Play. Two weekly Texas Hold ‘Em Tournaments will be hosted each Tuesday in June including a $35.00 Turbo No-Limit tournament at Noon and a $75.00 Bounty No-Limit tournament at 7:00pm.
A number of dining specials will also be offered in June as part of Two for Tuesdays including a two for $20.00 meal deal at Johnny Rockets, two BBQ beef short ribs sliders with fries and coleslaw for $9.99 from 11:30am to 4:00pm at Rustic Kitchen and two scoops of White Russian ice cream for $2.00 at Ben & Jerry’s. Each Tuesday throughout July and August, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs will also host weekly Slot Tournaments every thirty minutes from 11:00am until 2:30pm and Blackjack Tournaments beginning at 6:00pm. Visit mohegansun.com/hsf for details on buy-ins and registration.
Get over the midweek hump with Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs’ Wild Wednesdays. In June and August, guests playing their favorite slot machines between 11:00am and 8:00pm have a shot at being one of two selected winners each hour to compete in Dueling Cash Cubes. The guest who grabs the most “cash” and “Free Slot Play” during 30 seconds wins $100.00, but both guests walk away winners as they get to keep whatever amounts they manage to grab in the cube! As part of Wild Wednesdays in July, five lucky guests playing their favorite games will be randomly chosen each hour for a chance to spin the Wild Wheel for Free Slot Play, cash and Hot Summer Fun prizes.
The fun continues with Thrilling Thursdays, adding suspense to the week with two winners selected each hour from 11:00am until 8:00pm each Thursday. Winners will get a chance to try their luck in a game of Plinko with prizes of up to $1,000 in Free Slot Play. Thursdays are also thrilling due to the popular Party on the Patio celebrations where cover bands play each Thursday night at 7:30pm from May 30th to August 29th including Jimmy Buffett tribute band-Parrot Beach, Beatles tribute-Beatlemania, Guns N’ Roses tribute-November Rain and more! A complete schedule is available here (hyperlink here).
Funtastic Fridays are here to prove that Anything Can Happen at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Every hour from 5:00pm to 11:00pm winners or groups of winners will be surprised with one of many fun giveaways just for being in the right place at the right time. Giveaways will include any number of prizes or experiences. Anything can happen, and something amazing will each Friday all summer long!
Heading into the weekend, Sizzling Saturdays offers guests a chance to earn entries to win a convertible! One car will be given away at the end of each month. On Sundays, It All Adds Up with Sunsational Sundays where guests play to win gifts just for playing their favorite machine or table. Player’s Club Card members earn entries towards the Hot Summer Fun gift of the week with each point they earn.
But wait, there’s more! The Hot Summer Fun celebrations kick off on May 26th with a special Party on the Patio including music, fireworks and more. Other events happening this summer at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs include the Belmont Stakes Party on Saturday, June 8th in Pacer’s Clubhouse, the Pocono Celebrity Charity Poker Showdown Thursday, June 6th and live Harness Racing at the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs racetrack all summer long.
For a complete list of offers or for more information on Hot Summer Fun at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, please visit mohegansunpocono.com/hsf or download the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs App to your iOS or Android device. Connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and view us on YouTube.
May 20, 2013 | Racing
May 19, 2013
Most horses need a start after a long layoff before they can find their top form. Then again, most horses aren’t Captaintreacherous, who hit the ground pacing in his first start of the year on Sunday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, dominating his division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes for 3-year-old colts and geldings.
Captaintreacherous was racing for the first time since a heartbreaking loss at Woodbine in the Breeders Crown in October capped a season in which he won 8 of 10 races and earned $918,253 while captivating the harness racing world with his electric talent. His 2013 debut came against a tough field of seven with an outside post, but the 3-year-old colt from the Tony Alagna barn was still made the 1-9 favorite.
The heavy favorite sat fourth early as several horses vied for the lead, which was held at the quarter by Twincreeks Jesse. Driver Tim Tetrick set Captaintreacherous in motion on the front stretch first-over and he was able to clear Twincreeks Jesse at the half. Although the fractions were taxing to that point, Captaintreacherous got no pressure on the back stretch and powered through the lane without any urging to a 3 ½ length victory in 1:49:4, with a closing kick of 26:3. Dedi’s Dragon rallied for second while Twincreeks Jesse faded to third.
Owned by Captaintreacherous Racing of Kentucky, Captaintreacherous now has nine wins in 11 career races, and his lifetime earnings, with the winner’s share of the $62,587 purse, now stand at $949,547.
Captaintreacherous may have been the headliner, but he had to share the spotlight on this night with driver Dave Palone, who won the other three Sire Stakes divisions on the card, and Normandy Invasion, who set a new track record in his Sire Stakes win.
Normandy Invasion, who came in from the Meadows for trainer Brian Brown, left from post position #5 in his split and quickly gunned to the front end. Palone urged Normandy Invasion around the first turn to rebuff a play for the lead from favored Lonewolf Currier. The 3-year-old gelding did the rest, building a huge lead up front and tripping the line in 1:48:4, 2 ¾ lengths ahead of Twilight Bonfire with Bigrisk picking up the show. That winning time bested the previous Pocono mark for 3-year-old geldings on the pace of 1:49:1, which was set by Bet On The Law in October of last year.
Palone also scored front end victories in the other two splits. He and trainer Brown hooked up for a second win with Beach Memories, who bounced back from a break in his last start to win easily in 1:51:2. Palone was also a winner for trainer Chris Ryder aboard Martini Hanover, whose second start of the year produced a 5 ½ length win in 1:49:3.
May 20, 2013 | Racing
May 18, 2013
Pence Hanover relied on a pocket trip and powerful late kick to pick up a win in Saturday night’s featured Preferred pace at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The race carried the night’s top purse of $25,000.
Leaving from post position #4 in a field of eight as the 9-2 third betting choice, Pence Hanover (Western Hanover-Popcorn Penny), a 7-year-old gelding from the Aaron Lambert barn, was able to sit the pocket behind pacesetter Meirs Hanover. Even though the fractions weren’t too taxing, driver Andrew McCarthy was able to urge Pence Hanover to a rallying stretch win in the final strides over Meirs Hanover in 1:50:2. Here We Go Again picked up the show.
Pence Hanover, owned by Carl Cito Jr., won for the fifth time in 14 2013 starts. The victory was the 25th of his career and pushed his lifetime earnings to $257,955.
Saturday night’s racing at Pocono also featured eight $20,000 divisions of The Stallion Series for 3-year-old colts and geldings on the pace. The first of those divisions was the fastest of the night, as Matt Kakaley guided the Ron Burke trainee The Pan Poobah (The Panderosa-Pandalay Bay) to a scorching win in 1:50:4.
Kakaley would crank out four Stallion Series wins on the night at Pocono, including two with Burke and two more for trainer Ron Potter. He won again with Burke with UF Dragons Cruiser in 1:53:3. With Potter, he scored with Ilikeitrealhot in 1:51:2 and My One True Desire in 1:52:3.
Driver Jim Morrill Jr. and Chris Oakes connected on a pair of Stallion Series winners: Big Time Promise in 1:52:4 and Shock It To Em in 1:52. Morrill added a third win aboard Moonliteonthebeach for trainer Eddie Hart in 1:51:3. The other Stallion Series split was captured by Some Kinda Beach and the father-son team of driver Marcus Miller and trainer Erv Miller in 1:52.
May 17, 2013 | Racing
Before Orb even hits the gate for the 138th Preakness Stakes, the party will be in full swing at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.
The track in Northeast PA will get the celebration underway at 2:00 p.m., with the party tent, patio bars, and new Trackside Concession Stands opening with ice cold beverages. The featured drink will be the Black-Eyed Susan, the official drink of the Preakness Stakes, in the souvenir glass. Johnny Rockets will have delicious grilled burgers and hot dogs available for sale on the track apron as well.
The betting windows will open bright and early at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, with Post Time for Pimlico at 10:45 a.m. Pacer’s Clubhouse will begin serving dinner at 3:00 p.m., by reservation only. Free admission and free parking are in full effect for that day, as always, at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.
Live harness racing will immediately follow the Preakness Stakes, and there are 16 races on the card, with 8 divisions of the Pennsylvania Stallion Series for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings.
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs has live harness racing Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday, and will pick up Friday nights in June and July. Post Time is 6:30 p.m.
May 17, 2013 | Racing
Defending Pacer of the Year Captaintreacherous makes his 3-year-old debut Sunday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in the 10th race, one of four divisions of a $250,344 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes.
The son of Somebeachsomewhere, trained by Tony Alagna, starts the season racing under the new banner of Captaintreacherous Racing. Like his star Thoroughbred counterpart Orb, racing in the Preakness the day before, Captaintreacherous will be starting from the rail Sunday – only in the Captain’s case it’s the outside rail in a field of seven, which shows four horses beating 1:53 already this year. Tim Tetrick will be in his familiar sulky position behind Captaintreacherous.
Featuring in other Sire Stakes divisions are proven stakes winners Our Dragon King, Apprentice Hanover and Twilight Bonfire, plus two chancy types: Eddie Sweat, who takes the big step up after winning the PA Stallion Series championship last year, and Beach Memories, who tripped the timer in 1:50.2f in only his second start of 2013.
First post for the big Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Sunday night card is 6:30 p.m.
Gerry Connors for Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs
May 17, 2013 | Racing
May 11-May 17, 2013
We are about to get into the heart of stakes season here at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, as Stallion Series and Pennsylvania Sire Stakes races take place this weekend. This is the part of the season when things get really intense, with the best horses and horsemen invading the Pocono oval in a quest for the big purses. On the threshold of this exciting time, another exciting week of overnight racing went down. Here is the cream of the crop from those races with the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: STEELHEAD HANOVER
Managing a single mile of under 1:50 is quite an accomplishment. Doing it in two consecutive victories is an extremely impressive feat. And overcoming an outside post in the second of those miles is even more eye-popping. Since he accomplished all of these things, it’s no surprise that Steelhead Hanover earns the honors as this week’s top pacer.
The 4-year-old stallion trained and driven by Joe Pavia Jr. opened up on the front end in a condition for non-winners of $11,000 in the last five on April 27 for a victory in 1:49:1. Pavia gave him a week off and then returned him to action last Saturday night against the same class. Only this time Steelhead Hanover was a 7-1 third choice, likely because he was stuck in an outside post.
Pavia was able to get him into a prime spot into the pocket early, and that’s where he stayed as furious fractions were hung up on the board by the leaders in front of him. In the stretch, Steelhead Hanover found his stride and rallied for a tight win in 1:49:4. Can he get three in a row under 1:50? Only his next race will tell, but the way he’s going now, anything is possible.
Honorable mention on the pacing side goes to: Mickey Hanover (Joe Pavia Jr., Rene Allard), who followed up a big win at The Meadowlands with a victory in Saturday night’s featured Preferred pace in 1:49:3; Apache Renegade (Andrew McCarthy, Mike Watson), who moved up in class on Saturday night for a win, his second straight overall, over the $12,500 claimers in a career-best 1:51; and Camille (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who won a stretch duel with rival Feeling You in Sunday night’s Preferred pace for mares on 1:51:1.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: AS YA’LL LIKE IT
This mare joined the Amber Buter barn in April and took a shot against the condition trotters in her next two starts, but she could only manage one third-place finish. On May 4 she dropped back into Pocono’s toughest claiming group, the $25,000-$30,000 claiming handicappers, and quickly re-established herself as a force by pouncing late from the pocket for a win in 1:55:1.
In that race she was assigned the outside post because she had the highest claiming price, but, with only six horses in the field, it wasn’t that difficult a proposition. When As Ya’ll Like It took on the same group on Saturday night, her outside post was the #8 hole, meaning that it would be that much tougher to get to the lead in the early going.
Yet the mare made it to the front end quickly, and driver Tyler Buter took advantage of a lack of outside pressure to rate her speed perfectly. As Ya’ll Like It took it from there, getting all the way home in 1:55:4. She was claimed after the race, so we’ll see if the new barn keeps her in the class she’s been dominating or sets her up for even bigger and better things based on her recent outstanding form.
Other top trotters this week include: Berkshire (Jim Morrill Jr., Antonella Galie), who scored his second straight condition trotting victory on Tuesday night in 1:55:2; Celebrity Maserati (Tom Jackson, Susanne Strandqvist), who returned to Pocono following a big stakes win at Freehold and rolled to a condition win on Wednesday night in 1:53; and Tui (Anthony Napolitano, Don Wiest), the standout mare who rolled to her second straight condition trotting win on Wednesday night, this time in 1:53:1.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: HEYTHEREGEORGIEGIRL
This mare had been struggling mightily in search of her maiden win, but driver Ron Pierce coaxed a big effort out of her on Tuesday night to upset the field at 28-1 for a $59 payout on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: GEORGE NAPOLITANO JR.
It’s no surprise that Napolitano is among the driving leaders at Pocono yet again, and he improved his standing this week with a four-win explosion on Sunday night.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: NICK SURICK
One of the best young trainers in the business made his mark at Pocono this week by scoring three victories, including a double on Sunday night.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Fifth annual Hot Summer Fun kicks off May 26th for a season long, Seven-day-a-week celebration of Summer