January 9, 2026 • 9 mins
We spoke with Tom Cantone, Senior Vice President of Sports and Entertainment, about Mohegan Sun Arena being named “#1 Best Casino Concert Venue” in Newsweek’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. I'm
Alison de Merz. My guest this morning is Tom Cantone.
He is president of Sports Entertainment at Mohegan's Sun.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, good morning, glad to be with you.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
I guess congratulations is an order because you've received some
amazing accolades at Mohegan Sun. Let's talk about the different
awards we've.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Won and really been blessed with this phenomenal team here.
This has all been a team win over the years,
but of late especially we won Newsweek's Best Casino Concert
Venue in America. And you know, I don't know, there's
probably something like fifteen hundred other venues out there. So
(00:42):
the b number one is first of all, it takes
a lot of hard work. But second of all, really
a credit to the men and women who run our venue.
And you know, we continue to be the most awarded
venue in America right now with I think that's our
thirty sixth award in the past eighteen years. Yeah, so yeah,
(01:02):
it's it's quite a success story because we're in Uncasville, Connecticut.
We're not in Boston, we're not in New York, we're
not in Vegas, not in La and we continue the
land the biggest concert tours and the A list names
and the biggest events right here in our backyard.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I just attended Creed and before that I went to
see the Trans Siberian Orchestra. I know why Mohegan Sun
is so amazing, But what do you attribute it to
winning this award?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
The men and women who run our venue and also
the relationships that we have been able to build over
the years. There is a tremendous amount of respect and
confidence of coming to hear versus other venues that you
know that may or may not know as well. But
there's a trust factor that we make their artists and
their tours look so great when they hit the stage.
(01:51):
And our running team here are running crews, are experienced,
and they are a compliment to the tours that roll
in here. Don't know how many national tours have started here,
but they choose to start here for a reason, especially
today when that first impression with social media and the
phones are up and you know you're nervous about opening
(02:12):
that people not here because they come here and they
know that they're going to have, you know, the most
professional product that everyone's going to love and I remember
Keith Urban saying to me when he saw Ohigan sent
a reno on the tour list that everybody circled it
because they know they can come here and relax and
have fun. That alone is a tribute to all the
(02:34):
people that make it happen here.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
And how do you and all of them feel when
you hear things like that and win awards like this?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
It never gets old because I personally know how hard
everyone works. This is hard work. You know, to win
is one thing, but to consistently be winning, it's hard
to stay up there. And it's fun at the same time,
because our product is fun and when you put people first,
great things happen. And you know, we do things really
(03:04):
well here and we have great people in great spots
to make it happen. But it's a pride thing. We're
really proud of what we've built. It's like Yankee Stadium
when you go to the monument Park. Backstage here is
all of our national awards who walk the red carpet
and you see this historic milestone that has been created here.
(03:26):
Some fifteen million people have been here just to see shows.
I mean, it's an incredible success story. We're one of
the biggest social media venues now in the world. Meeting.
The minute I booked something, everyone's talking about it, you know,
so we must be doing something right that people like
and come here to see. And I always say, you know,
(03:47):
we don't sell tickets, we make memories. And so to me,
that's what people really love about coming here is, you know,
the memories they make with their family and friends. You know,
that's forever, that's shelf life, this forever. And when they
come here, you know, they can get away from the
world from the twenty four to seven onslaught of negative news.
(04:07):
But when they come here, that all gets put away.
They unplugged, they got their phones, they're recording, they're happy,
they're you know, everyone's celebrating, they're dancing. How is it
that ten thousand people who've never met all become best
friends at a concert? So that's what happens here.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Oh my goodness, all of that was so beautiful. I
don't even know you, and I know I like you.
With the Italian last name and then the reference to
Monument Park. Thank you so much for saying all of this.
I've been blessed from day one to watch the creation
of Mohican Sun and up until now. As I said,
I was just there last week to see Creed and
we sat outside at Tuscany with the waterfall and it
(04:48):
was beautiful and the food was to die for. We
had the best time ever. And then we walked over
and we saw an amazing concert, like you said, and
everybody in there was just singing songs together. What a
blessing that we have Mohegan Sun in the state. You
also came in number two, which is saying a lot
in two other categories. Would you like to explain.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
That we best Native American casino and the best players
club thing. So yeah, it's a compliment. You know, we've
got not one show, not two shows, not three shows.
We've got so many shows going on here when people
arrive that you know, you just mentioned. Our restaurants are fantastic,
and you know, the the environment here when you pull
in a safe place here too, you know. And the
(05:32):
one thing that I like to talk about that nobody does,
it's free parking. You go to another venue, you can
pick any venue you want. You go to another venue
and you're dipping into your pocket for big money and
not here. Parking is free and it's safe and you
don't have to walk through downtown anywhere to get anywhere.
You just come right in the door. And you got
(05:53):
a you know, a two billion dollar resort enterprise. You know,
an elevator ride to everything, and you can go shopping
if you want, you can take you know, go play
gamble if you want. I mean, we've got so many
things to do here. The Expost Center is massive. It's
as big as the arena. You know, tens of hundreds
of thousands of people are pouring into here every week.
(06:17):
And you know, so there's a lot going on, not
just not just the arena, just there's all kinds of shows, entertainment.
You know, I review all of our assets here as
entertainment anyway. So yeah, when you arrive, you're sitting by
the waterfall, You're looking at you that's your holy and
you know, people are taking pictures of themselves and selfies
(06:38):
and you know, getting even the smallest thing. They're just
getting ice cream and walking around. You know, it's it's
a resort complex that you know, rivals none. I like
to say we're the massive square Garden of New England
up here for the arena, because we beat and do
just about everything they do you know, so you don't
have to go to New York, you don't have to
go to Boston and wait and buy and pay for
(07:00):
in the parking. Come right here and you know you'll
have the greatest time. So and you'll be making some
great memories.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Absolutely, you do not need to leave Connecticut. I would
be remiss if I did not mention the SPA because.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
The SPA is the bomb of the Spa. Yeah, well yeah,
so yeah, there you go. You just you can keep talking,
keep adding them on because there's there's a lot I've missed,
you know. So we do a lot with you know,
meetings and conventions here and our sports program. We have
a WNBA team, you know, we do a lot of MMA,
(07:31):
and bare knuckle fighting is now the raide. So whatever
is current and popular and happens happening in pop culture
pretty much you're going to see it here.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
What do you hope for in twenty twenty six?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Oh, just this the continuation of making memories for everyone.
You know, as long as we keep doing what we're doing,
we stay current, and we book the latest and greatest
names whoever's hot, and social media the greatest insation with
ten million followers, or more on YouTube or Instagram, they're
(08:05):
coming in here. And you know, book I booked Matt Wright,
who was only a YouTube sensation, for seven sold out
shows twelve total, with our other property in Canada, not
spending a nickel on advertising or marketing. It was all
done through social media. That's the game changer. So when
(08:27):
you know this year, nothing will change, only get better
with social media's presence. And you know, when we tie
into you know, the latest and greatest that everyone's talking
about and they're right here in our backyard, we're going
to be sold out just pretty much every time.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
No wonder You've won all of these awards, and I've
worked with a lot of the people that you work
with over the years, and they really are just the
nicest bunch of people who genuinely care about this place.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
It's all about the team. It's all about the team.
It's a winning team. And we never take our success granted.
We work just as hard to you know, with ideas
and things that are coming our way to make it work.
And if things aren't working, we'll make it work, you know.
So it's just a great place to live and to
work and to you know, experience things and We have
(09:18):
a saying here, we just love having fun while getting
it done. And you know, it's a fun place. So
how can you not have fun working at you know,
Mohigan Sun, because that's our product.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
I'm speaking with Tom Cantone, President of Sports Entertainment at
Mohegan Sun. Congratulations and thank you for all of the
amazing work that you're doing well.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Thank you for having me on and keep coming and
keep seeing our show to NonStop entertainment. Have fun,
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. I'm
Alison de Merz. My guest this morning is Tom Cantone.
He is president of Sports Entertainment at Mohegan's Sun.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good morning, good morning, glad to be with you.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
I guess congratulations is an order because you've received some
amazing accolades at Mohegan Sun. Let's talk about the different
awards we've.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Won and really been blessed with this phenomenal team here.
This has all been a team win over the years,
but of late especially we won Newsweek's Best Casino Concert
Venue in America. And you know, I don't know, there's
probably something like fifteen hundred other venues out there. So
(00:42):
the b number one is first of all, it takes
a lot of hard work. But second of all, really
a credit to the men and women who run our venue.
And you know, we continue to be the most awarded
venue in America right now with I think that's our
thirty sixth award in the past eighteen years. Yeah, so yeah,
(01:02):
it's it's quite a success story because we're in Uncasville, Connecticut.
We're not in Boston, we're not in New York, we're
not in Vegas, not in La and we continue the
land the biggest concert tours and the A list names
and the biggest events right here in our backyard.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I just attended Creed and before that I went to
see the Trans Siberian Orchestra. I know why Mohegan Sun
is so amazing, But what do you attribute it to
winning this award?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
The men and women who run our venue and also
the relationships that we have been able to build over
the years. There is a tremendous amount of respect and
confidence of coming to hear versus other venues that you
know that may or may not know as well. But
there's a trust factor that we make their artists and
their tours look so great when they hit the stage.
(01:51):
And our running team here are running crews, are experienced,
and they are a compliment to the tours that roll
in here. Don't know how many national tours have started here,
but they choose to start here for a reason, especially
today when that first impression with social media and the
phones are up and you know you're nervous about opening
(02:12):
that people not here because they come here and they
know that they're going to have, you know, the most
professional product that everyone's going to love and I remember
Keith Urban saying to me when he saw Ohigan sent
a reno on the tour list that everybody circled it
because they know they can come here and relax and
have fun. That alone is a tribute to all the
(02:34):
people that make it happen here.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
And how do you and all of them feel when
you hear things like that and win awards like this?
Speaker 2 (02:42):
It never gets old because I personally know how hard
everyone works. This is hard work. You know, to win
is one thing, but to consistently be winning, it's hard
to stay up there. And it's fun at the same time,
because our product is fun and when you put people first,
great things happen. And you know, we do things really
(03:04):
well here and we have great people in great spots
to make it happen. But it's a pride thing. We're
really proud of what we've built. It's like Yankee Stadium
when you go to the monument Park. Backstage here is
all of our national awards who walk the red carpet
and you see this historic milestone that has been created here.
(03:26):
Some fifteen million people have been here just to see shows.
I mean, it's an incredible success story. We're one of
the biggest social media venues now in the world. Meeting.
The minute I booked something, everyone's talking about it, you know,
so we must be doing something right that people like
and come here to see. And I always say, you know,
(03:47):
we don't sell tickets, we make memories. And so to me,
that's what people really love about coming here is, you know,
the memories they make with their family and friends. You know,
that's forever, that's shelf life, this forever. And when they
come here, you know, they can get away from the
world from the twenty four to seven onslaught of negative news.
(04:07):
But when they come here, that all gets put away.
They unplugged, they got their phones, they're recording, they're happy,
they're you know, everyone's celebrating, they're dancing. How is it
that ten thousand people who've never met all become best
friends at a concert? So that's what happens here.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Oh my goodness, all of that was so beautiful. I
don't even know you, and I know I like you.
With the Italian last name and then the reference to
Monument Park. Thank you so much for saying all of this.
I've been blessed from day one to watch the creation
of Mohican Sun and up until now. As I said,
I was just there last week to see Creed and
we sat outside at Tuscany with the waterfall and it
(04:48):
was beautiful and the food was to die for. We
had the best time ever. And then we walked over
and we saw an amazing concert, like you said, and
everybody in there was just singing songs together. What a
blessing that we have Mohegan Sun in the state. You
also came in number two, which is saying a lot
in two other categories. Would you like to explain.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
That we best Native American casino and the best players
club thing. So yeah, it's a compliment. You know, we've
got not one show, not two shows, not three shows.
We've got so many shows going on here when people
arrive that you know, you just mentioned. Our restaurants are fantastic,
and you know, the the environment here when you pull
in a safe place here too, you know. And the
(05:32):
one thing that I like to talk about that nobody does,
it's free parking. You go to another venue, you can
pick any venue you want. You go to another venue
and you're dipping into your pocket for big money and
not here. Parking is free and it's safe and you
don't have to walk through downtown anywhere to get anywhere.
You just come right in the door. And you got
(05:53):
a you know, a two billion dollar resort enterprise. You know,
an elevator ride to everything, and you can go shopping
if you want, you can take you know, go play
gamble if you want. I mean, we've got so many
things to do here. The Expost Center is massive. It's
as big as the arena. You know, tens of hundreds
of thousands of people are pouring into here every week.
(06:17):
And you know, so there's a lot going on, not
just not just the arena, just there's all kinds of shows, entertainment.
You know, I review all of our assets here as
entertainment anyway. So yeah, when you arrive, you're sitting by
the waterfall, You're looking at you that's your holy and
you know, people are taking pictures of themselves and selfies
(06:38):
and you know, getting even the smallest thing. They're just
getting ice cream and walking around. You know, it's it's
a resort complex that you know, rivals none. I like
to say we're the massive square Garden of New England
up here for the arena, because we beat and do
just about everything they do you know, so you don't
have to go to New York, you don't have to
go to Boston and wait and buy and pay for
(07:00):
in the parking. Come right here and you know you'll
have the greatest time. So and you'll be making some
great memories.
Speaker 1 (07:05):
Absolutely, you do not need to leave Connecticut. I would
be remiss if I did not mention the SPA because.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
The SPA is the bomb of the Spa. Yeah, well yeah,
so yeah, there you go. You just you can keep talking,
keep adding them on because there's there's a lot I've missed,
you know. So we do a lot with you know,
meetings and conventions here and our sports program. We have
a WNBA team, you know, we do a lot of MMA,
(07:31):
and bare knuckle fighting is now the raide. So whatever
is current and popular and happens happening in pop culture
pretty much you're going to see it here.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
What do you hope for in twenty twenty six?
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Oh, just this the continuation of making memories for everyone.
You know, as long as we keep doing what we're doing,
we stay current, and we book the latest and greatest
names whoever's hot, and social media the greatest insation with
ten million followers, or more on YouTube or Instagram, they're
(08:05):
coming in here. And you know, book I booked Matt Wright,
who was only a YouTube sensation, for seven sold out
shows twelve total, with our other property in Canada, not
spending a nickel on advertising or marketing. It was all
done through social media. That's the game changer. So when
(08:27):
you know this year, nothing will change, only get better
with social media's presence. And you know, when we tie
into you know, the latest and greatest that everyone's talking
about and they're right here in our backyard, we're going
to be sold out just pretty much every time.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
No wonder You've won all of these awards, and I've
worked with a lot of the people that you work
with over the years, and they really are just the
nicest bunch of people who genuinely care about this place.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
It's all about the team. It's all about the team.
It's a winning team. And we never take our success granted.
We work just as hard to you know, with ideas
and things that are coming our way to make it work.
And if things aren't working, we'll make it work, you know.
So it's just a great place to live and to
work and to you know, experience things and We have
(09:18):
a saying here, we just love having fun while getting
it done. And you know, it's a fun place. So
how can you not have fun working at you know,
Mohigan Sun, because that's our product.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
I'm speaking with Tom Cantone, President of Sports Entertainment at
Mohegan Sun. Congratulations and thank you for all of the
amazing work that you're doing well.
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Thank you for having me on and keep coming and
keep seeing our show to NonStop entertainment. Have fun,
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!