LAS VEGAS (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Mohegan Sun and its Senior Vice President of Sports & Entertainment, Tom Cantone had a big night at the G2E Global Gaming Conference Casino Entertainment Awards, taking home a pair of awards from the inaugural edition of the awards show.
Tom Cantone was named as the Entertainment Executive of the Year, while the Mohegan Sun Arena was named as the Best Arena of the Year, edging out MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas and Thunder Valley Casino Resort Amphitheater in Lincoln. The Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun was also in the running with a nomination for Best Theater of the Year.
“Accepting this award is the pinnacle of recognizing the best entertainment team in the nation, who all have ownership of building our entertainment product into one of the elite programs and venues in the world” said Tom Cantone, Senior VP of Sports & Entertainment.
Mr. Cantone, who is widely regarded as revolutionizing the casino entertainment industry, was recently promoted to the post of Senior Vice President of Sports and Entertainment for Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, with oversight of entertainment at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, as well as Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Pennsylvania and Mohegan Gaming Advisors, managers of Resorts Hotel Casino in Atlantic City.
Under Cantone's stewardship, the Mohegan Sun Arena has become one of the top arenas in the nation, ranked 3rd in the U.S. and 5th in the world by Billboard Magazine and was the 2008 and 2010 recipient of a Country Music Award for "Casino of The Year."
Venues Today also ranked Mohegan Sun Arena #3 in 2012 and ranked it in the top six of "Top Stops of The Decade" in 2012. Venues Today also named Mohegan Sun Arena #4 in mid-year Top Stops for 2013.
The full list of winners at the 2013 Casino Entertainment Awards at G2E
Casino Independent Talent Buyer of the Year: Brian Knaff, Talent Buyers Network
Casino Comedian of the Year: George Wallace
Casino Arena/Amphitheatre of the Year: Mohegan Sun Arena
Casino Booking Agent of the Year: Steve Levine, ICM Partners
Casino Musical Artist of the Year: Rick Springfield
Casino Showroom/Theatre of the Year: Vinyl at Hard Rock Las Vegas
Casino Entertainent Executive of the Year: Tom Cantone, Mohegan Sun
Casino Entertainer of the Year: Motley Crue – Staff Writers