MASHANTUCKET, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Foxwoods Resort Casino, the premier resort casino destination on the East Coast, announced today that it has been named the presenting sponsor of the House of Blues Boston. As a result of this multi-year agreement, the House of Blues Boston will henceforth be called the House of Blues Boston presented by Foxwoods Resort Casino, bringing together two of the most prominent names in music and entertainment on the eastern seaboard.

“We’re thrilled to join with the House of Blues and are excited to have our brand associated with the Boston venue, a stone’s throw from where the first House of Blues was opened in Cambridge in 1992,” said President of Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises (MPGE), Michael Speller. “As a national legend and one of Boston’s premier entertainment venues, the House of Blues is a natural extension of the Foxwoods brand.”

Under terms of the agreement, the Foxwoods brand will be incorporated into the House of Blues’ public signage, including its iconic billboard on the rear of the venue facing the Massachusetts Turnpike. In addition, Foxwoods will be the presenting sponsor of the House of Blues Boston’s Foundation Room, which gives the casino a company-branded Foxwoods Balcony, a dedicated section of elite VIP seating, and access to the exclusive Foundation Room. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“The House of Blues Boston’s live music platform offers Foxwoods Resort Casino a unique way to engage a very diverse group of consumers every single day of the year through great live entertainment, our Foundation Room and restaurant,” said Maureen Ford, President of North America Music Sales for Live Nation.

Since the opening of the first House of Blues in Cambridge, MA in 1992, the House of Blues chain has grown to 13 locations across the country, including the 53,000 square foot venue in Boston, which was opened last fall. House of Blues Boston ranked #1 on Pollstar’s “Top 100 Worldwide Club Venues” in 2009 for having sold more tickets than any other club venue in the world, with more than 300,000 tickets sold in that year alone. House of Blues was acquired by Live Nation in 2006.

“We are very pleased to welcome Foxwoods as a venue sponsor with House of Blues and the Live Nation team,” said Don Law, President of Live Nation New England. “We look forward to an exciting year and a successful long-term relationship.”

Foxwoods, Live Nation and House of Blues will celebrate this sponsorship with a special wampum exchange ceremony, a traditional ritual used by Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to show appreciation and commitment to agreements, at the House of Blues Boston prior to the Cheap Trick concert this weekend. Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation officials, dignitaries and high-ranking executives from Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises, Live Nation and House of Blues are all expected to be on hand.

While the sponsorship is the latest tool to help industry leader Foxwoods expand its brand beyond gaming and connect with customers across generations, it is not the first. In 2009, Foxwoods partnered with Apple to introduce the first-ever casino-branded iPhone application, which gives users the ability to play games, book reservations and take virtual property tours. Other marketing efforts the company has launched over the past year include a growing presence in social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Having been considered one of the East Coast’s premier entertainment destinations since opening its doors in the early 90’s, Foxwoods Resort Casino has played host to some of the biggest names in entertainment over the past year, including Mariah Carey, Seinfeld, Sting, Lindsay Lohan, Kid Rock and Toby Keith. In 2010, Foxwoods and MGM Grand at Foxwoods show no signs of slowing down, with a myriad of world-class acts on deck, from Carrie Underwood to Steve Harvey, Norah Jones to Daughtry and New Kids on the Block to Yanni.

About Foxwoods and MGM Grand at Foxwoods

North America’s largest casino, Foxwoods Resort Casino® is located in the rolling hills of southeastern Connecticut and is easily accessible from Boston, New York, Hartford, and Providence. Owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Foxwoods features six casinos with more than 7,200 slots, 380 table games, the only WPT World Poker Room™ in New England, High Stakes Bingo, and Ultimate Race Book. There are 1,416 guest rooms and suites in three hotels, more than 30 restaurants, a luxurious spa, more than 50,000 square feet of premium meeting and event space, 24 retail shops, and five entertainment venues, including the 1,400-seat Fox Theatre. Conveniently located adjacent to Foxwoods is Lake of Islesâ„¢, featuring two 18-hole championship golf courses designed by Rees Jones and a state-of-the-art Golf Academy. In May 2008, the MGM Grand at Foxwoods® debuted, adding 825 luxurious guest rooms, 115,000 square feet of meeting space, the 4,000-seat MGM Grand Theater, a 21,000-square-foot spa, and more dining, retail, and gaming facilities, bolstering Foxwoods’ preeminence as the East Coast’s ultimate casino resort destination. 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 1-800-FOXWOODS or visit www.foxwoods.com.

About the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation

The Mashantucket Pequots are a native Algonquin people in southeastern Connecticut, having endured centuries of conflict, survival, and continuity on and around one of America’s oldest Indian reservations, established in 1666. As the first native people within the borders of the continental United States to suffer attempted genocidal massacre by Puritan Colonists in 1637, the Pequots and their repatriation is an unprecedented story of restoration exhibited in detail at the Tribe’s world-class Museum and Research Center (www.pequotmuseum.org). Today the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation owns the largest resort casino in the world, Foxwoods Resort Casino (www.foxwoods.com), along with several other economic ventures including the Lake of Isles Golf Course (www.lakeofisles.com), a joint-venture partnership establishing the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, and Foxwoods Development Company dedicated to world-class resort development throughout the United States and Caribbean. All together, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation remains one of the State of Connecticut’s highest tax payers and largest employers. Likewise, the Tribe provides significant financial contributions to state and local nonprofit organizations that support neighboring communities.

About House of Blues

Founded in 1992, this dynamic company with soul, spirit and vision was acquired by Live Nation in November of 2006. With 13 branded clubs, including Atlantic City, Anaheim, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Myrtle Beach, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando and San Diego, each House of Blues club features live music, Southern-inspired cuisine in an eclectic environment celebrating the African American cultural contributions of blues music and folk art. www.hob.com

About Live Nation

Live Nation's mission is to maximize the live concert experience. Our core business is producing, marketing and selling live concerts for artists via our global concert pipe. Live Nation is the largest producer of live concerts in the world, annually producing over 16,000 concerts for 1,500 artists in 57 countries. The company sells over 45 million concert tickets a year and expects to drive over 60 million unique visitors to LiveNation.com in 2008. Live Nation is transforming the concert business by expanding its concert platform into ticketing and building the industry's first artist-to-fan vertically integrated concert platform. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol "LYV." Additional information about the company can be found at www.livenation.com/investors.


Source: Foxwoods Resort Casino