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Being the first franchise in a non-NBA market wasn't the only challenge facing Mohegan Sun in its pursuit of a WNBA team. The aspect of gambling as a driving force in the success of the resort was an issue no one involved could ignore.
"It's one thing to tell them you're in Connecticut," said Paul Munick, Sun team president. "It's another thing to say you're in Uncasville, at a casino."
The complex -- which includes a 34-story hotel, restaurants and shopping -- houses the second largest casino worldwide. Casino of the Earth was unveiled in 1996 and Casino of the Sky debuted in late 2001.
Although gaming is not the only attraction offered by Mohegan Sun, the pitch could not be made by phone. Munick and Sun CEO Mitchell Etess were focused on getting a group from the NBA to visit the facility.
The result was an on-site meeting and tour that lasted roughly three hours. One week later, a management team representing Mohegan Sun traveled to New York and met with NBA commissioner David Stern during the 2002 Christmas season.
"Once you got them here," Etess said, "they saw the breadth of the facility, they understood how the arena related to the building. They became much more comfortable."
If there was any pro sports league willing to take the risk, the NBA and its subsidiary, the WNBA, was a good fit. The 2007 NBA All-Star Game will be held in Las Vegas and the Maloof brothers, Joe and Gavin, own Vegas' Palms Resort and Casino, along with the Sacramento Kings and WNBA's Monarchs.
The Palms is not allowed to take bets on NBA games. Both Munick and Etess said Mohegan Sun has no plans to bring in sports betting, something the NBA was made aware of during negotiations.
"It was a bigger concern for the media than it was for us," former WNBA president Val Ackerman said. "We were comforted because there's no sports book at Mohegan Sun. The arena operation is separated from the gaming and frankly, because there's so much else there -- the retail and the hotel, and of course the arena and the theatre -- we just kind of found ourselves as part of the bigger complex, where gaming simply wasn't the only thing.
"And so we felt that it really was a non-issue for us in terms of having a WNBA team there."
Mike Thibault shared the league's lack of concern when he took the job to be the Connecticut Sun's first coach.
"For me it was just basketball, I don't worry about that stuff," he said. "The casino stuff, for those who rant and rave about the casino and morals and everything else, I don't have a lot time for them because they're the same ones who are quite willing to take that tax money for their school system and their roads and everything else.
"Every state has a lottery and some of those same people, who say they won't go in a casino, play the lottery every day. It's an easy excuse."
Additionally, the casino wasn't seen as a deterrent to an eager fan base already possessing a passion for women's basketball.
Mohegan Sun had already seen a pro team well received by hosting a series of Springfield Spirit games during multiple National Women's Basketball League season. The arena then hosted the league's Pro Cup Championship in March 2002, a half-year before the WNBA passed legislation to allow for non-NBA affiliated ownership.
"To me it's a no-brainer," said former UConn star Kara Wolters, who played for Springfield during WNBA offseasons. "Believe me, Mohegan Sun wasn't taking that much of a risk going out on a limb, saying 'We want to support a women's basketball team in this town even though we don't have an NBA team.' And again, they started that with the NWBL because they kind of tested it out.
"It's a great sign that teams want to support women's basketball without being forced to do so."
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