Orange County Choppers Live At MGM Grand Foxwoods Review

Moomettes — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 02:05:02 +0000

Orange County Choppers Live starring Paul Teutel, Sr., Rick Petko, Jason Pohl, Christian Welter, Nick Hansford, Jim Quinn, Mike Ammirati & Steve Moreau was showcased on this past weekend at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods. The crew from Orange County Choppers, as documented on American Chopper, Discovery Channel’s popular reality TV show, brought all that flash and fire to the theater at MGM Grand at Foxwoods in Connecticut.

And I was there! Yes, there ARE things to do in Connecticut! Yes, your Momma and Grandmom watch Orange County Choppers!

MGM Grand At Foxwoods

The MGM Grand at Foxwoods is an easy 45-minute trip from Hartford, CT. You can easily make it an enjoyable New England daytrip or mini staycation.

About Foxwoods and MGM Grand at Foxwoods

North America’s largest casino, Foxwoods Resort Casino® is located at the Mashantucket Pequot Indian reservation in the midst of the rolling hills of southeastern Connecticut, easily accessible from Boston, New York, Hartford, and Providence. Owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, Foxwoods has something for everyone as the East Coast’s premier entertainment destination. Four award-winning hotels offer accommodations to suit every budget, along with luxury butler-serviced villas, extensive retail offerings, and more than 30 dining establishments featuring everything from world-class gourmet cuisine to casual fare. Six casinos offer non-stop gaming excitement with more than 6,600 slots and 360 table games; 97 poker tables in the only WPT World Poker Room™ on the East Coast; a High Stakes Bingo hall; and Ultimate Race Book. The renowned Norwich Spa at Foxwoods and the tranquil oasis of G-Spa provide the perfect escape to recharge the mind, body, and soul. Meetings and convention goers will find more than 115,000 square feet of meeting space, including the largest column-free ballroom in the northeast, MGM’s 50,000 square foot Premiere Ballroom. Two acoustically perfected theaters offer weekly entertainment for all ages. The legendary Frank Sinatra opened the original state-of-the-art Fox Theater, seating 1,400, in 1993. The majestic 4,000-seat MGM Grand Theater hosts an impressive variety of weekly headline entertainment. Conveniently located adjacent to Foxwoods is Lake of Isles™, featuring two 18-hole championship golf courses designed by Rees Jones and a state-of-the-art Golf Academy.

Pre-Show Dining and Casino

My husband and I arrived early enough to have an enjoyable dinner at Junior’s, famous for their original New York Cheesecake, and one of three restaurants in addition to the Food Court at the MGM Grand. Junior’s is a Brooklyn landmark. We opted for the complimentary pickled beets, onions, coleslaw and pickles before dinner. If you haven’t tried a New York Egg Cream soda made with Fox’s U-Bet Original Chocolate Syrup put that on your bucket list of things to do! My main course was called “Some of Everything” which was a brisket au jus, with two of the largest, thickest potato pancakes I’ve ever seen! It was served with chunky applesauce! Unfortunately I didn’t have room for dessert but picked up a book where I could order their cheesecakes online.

After dinner, we walked around the casino taking in the sights and sounds of the hypnotic slot machines (and trying our luck, too!)

All ticketholders were granted access to a viewing of the magnificent choppers that OCC brought along, including the FBI, Fire, POW and a special built street-ready bike built for their OCC Foundation charity raffle.

Orange County Choppers Bikes

You’ve seen them all over, from busy streets to contests in arenas. Beyond any doubt, motorcycles are singularly one of the most favorite methods of transportation on the planet.

One of the movies that stand out in my mind when I was coming of age in the late 1960s early 1970s was Easy Rider. You may be familiar with the soundtrack.

Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers … who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom.

Between work, family and other obligations that life tends to throw in our direction, it’s tough to find time for ourselves.

There are, however, some ways to bring a little therapeutic relaxation to our lives. More and more people are hopping on bikes and scooters to escape the daily grind and hope for adventure on the wide-open road.

Most bikes are designed with guys in mind. After all, they are the bulk of the operators. Yet you can bet that just as many women secretly harbor a desire to do more with a motorcycle than just ride on the back of it!

The crowd at MGM Grand viewing Orange County Choppers Live was in the 20-60 year age range, proof that motorcycles definitely appeal to a wide demographic group, including Baby Boomers. There were plenty of women in the audience.

The stereotype of a “biker chick” is commonplace among many people, but you’d be amazed how many gals have glided by you on their bike. These women come from all walks of life. Some of them enjoy the thrill of riding their own bike while others find it a very economical way of commuting each day. The majority of women who do own motorcycles are in their 30s, have a family and are educated.

While I expected to see a lot of leather pants, the majority of the gals were dressed in jeans, myself included.

The number of female motorcycle owners continues to rise, and many more are interested in purchasing one. Soon it won’t be long before boutique custom shops will be as commonplace as finding a designer handbag shop on Rodeo Drive!

OCC Live

The OCC Band, comprised of four members of the shop playing lead guitar, bass, drums and harmonica opened the 90-minute show to the sold-out crowd at the 4,000 seat capacity theater with familiar renditions of songs the audience rocked too, including “Roxanne” from The Police. A new lead singer was introduced by Jim Quinn, one of the Engineers. As MC of the show, Jim mentioned that the group had just taken the red-eye and returned from doing a benefit show in LA.

The stage backdrop was a replication of OCC’s actual workshop, which could also be viewed on the wide-screen monitors throughout the theater.

We first met Jason Pohl, a native of Mendota, IL and active outdoor enthusiast, joined Orange County Choppers as Senior Designer in early 2004. He started his career at Incredible Technologies, based in Arlington Heights, IL as an Artist/Animator of videogames, where he worked on a digital pinball prototype licensed by OCC and was responsible for the modeling and designing of all choppers featured in the game. Upon completion of the project, Paul Sr was so impressed with his work; he approached Jason to join the team. Jason attended the Illinois Institute of Art, where he holds a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts.

It was fun to see Jason explain how he uses Adobe Photoshop to assist in designs, and the audience got to vote from selections of a front end; frame; handlebars; gas tank; wheels; exhaust pipe; headlight and fenders that were flashed on the monitors and help design a bike. He joked that “these guys (the audience) are harder than Senior to please.”

Paul Teutul, Sr., came out and was introduced to the crowd. Known to the world as the massive and mustachioed father, in a sleeveless tee with tattooed biceps bulging, who owns a custom bike shop, thanks to TLC’s hit reality series American Chopper, Paul Teutul Sr. has been the forefront of Orange County Choppers for more than ten years. OCC originally started as a sideline to his steel manufacturing business, which was founded in the 1970’s. Paul Sr began building custom motorcycles on the side as a hobby and in 1999, he founded, the now world famous, Orange County Choppers.

Paul took Questions and Answers from the audience, delighted the crowd by throwing out Frisbees and t-shirts and remained on-stage after the show to sign autographs for his appreciative fans.

The show concluded with the crew putting together a bike onstage and starting it up, smoking a tire and filling the theater with smoke and noise to the delight of the audience.

A raffle was held for all ticked holders who were present at the end.

And the winner was …. A WOMAN!

Tickets for events may be purchased online at www.mgmatfoxwoods.com, by calling the MGM Grand Box Office at (1)+(866)+646+0609 by calling Ticketmaster, or in person at the MGM Grand Box Office.

Foxwoods supports responsible gaming, and plays a leadership role in the Connecticut Council of Problem Gambling, of which it was a founding entity. For more information, call 800-FOXWOODS or visit www.foxwoods.com

Do you have a family and kid-friendly attraction, lodging, restaurant or event that you would like me to visit, write about and feature? To forward information and passes please Contact me.

© 2011 C. Matthews

I received press media tickets to attend and review this event. Opinions are my own.

Orange County Choppers Live At MGM Grand Foxwoods Review is a post from: Moomettes Magnificents

Ready for a Road Trip this summer? Head West to Texas & The Stark Museum of Art

Moomettes — Sat, 24 May 2008 18:56:24 +0000

There’s nothing more that I enjoy than a “Road Trip.” Each summer when I was younger, my family would always head out in July for one week somewhere. We live in New England, and my fondest memories included visiting the usual tourist sites ~ Washington, D.C.; Atlantic City (before it became a casino haven); Florida; Niagra Falls; Lake George, NY; Cape Cod and many other destinations.

When I had my own family, we piled the kiddos into our brand new Mini Van, and ventured down the DelMarVa peninsula, across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel “Take Your Car to Sea” and on to Virginia Beach & Colonial Williamsburg.

But I’ve never been farther ‘west’ than Chicago. My brother-in-law spent time in the Air Force in Texas, and when he got married, took his bride to San Antonio, and all the other sites. I’ve co-workers who have hailed from Texas, as well as those who have visited, and am amazed at how they spoke of its vastness and interesting sites.

So, I will travel vicariously, and suggest if you hit the open road, to visit the Stark Museum. Orange, Texas has so much to offer! The Start Museum explores the art of the American West. It houses one of the finest collections of 19th and 20th century Western American art and artifacts in the country. The Stark Museum of Art is a program of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation. The Stark Foundation’s mission seeks to improve the quality of life in Southeast Texas by encouraging, promoting and assisting education, the arts, and health and human services.

Although I’m familiar with Native American art as Connecticut has Foxwoods Casino and a renouned Indian Museum, the Stark Museum has different collections, including Western Art, American Indian Art, Decorative Arts, and Rare Books and Manuscripts.

This summer the Stark Museum of Art will feature a rotating exhibition entitled “Thirtieth Anniversary Treasures” running from August 19, 2008 – October 29, 2008.

In 2008 the Stark Museum of Art will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary. This special exhibition will highlight treasures from the collections, including works not previously exhibited.

So, I suggest you visit their website, and put The Stark Museum of Art on your itinerary of great places to see and visit!

The mission of the Stark Foundation is to improve the quality of life in Southeast Texas by encouraging, promoting and assisting education, the arts, and health and human services. The Foundation carries out this mandate, in part, through the programs of the Stark Museum of Art.