From Pocono Downs to Mohegan Pennsylvania
Pocono Downs opened in July 1965 as a harness track serving the Wyoming Valley. Mohegan, the gaming arm of the Mohegan Tribe, bought it from Penn National Gaming in January 2005 for $280 million, a few months after the state’s 2004 gaming law tied slot licenses to racetracks. The casino opened in November 2006, the first slot parlour in Pennsylvania.
Table games arrived on July 13, 2010, after the state legalized them, and a hotel connected to the casino floor followed in November 2013. The brand moved from Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs to Mohegan Sun Pocono in 2015 and to Mohegan Pennsylvania in 2022. Sports betting began in 2019, first in partnership with Kindred’s Unibet brand.
Pocono Downs harness racing in 2026
The 2026 meet, the track’s 61st, opened on Saturday, February 14 and closes on November 21, with 128 race days. The standard schedule is Saturday, Monday and Tuesday at 1 p.m., plus nine Sunday cards from May 31 with a 5 p.m. first post. Qualifiers run at 10 a.m. on Wednesdays, and the apron is open to families.
- Game of Claims final: Saturday, March 7, a $35,000 championship
- Sun Stakes Saturday: August 22, about $2.3 million in stakes, 2:30 p.m. post
- Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championships for two-year-olds: Monday, September 7, $1.4 million
- Closing day: Saturday, November 21
Sun Stakes Saturday is the richest afternoon of the year. Ron Burke, who has won most of the recent Pocono training titles, and driver Tyler Buter, the 2025 leader, are names to watch on the program. Free past performances come from the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association, and a Racing Rewards card is free.
The Mohegan Pennsylvania casino floor
The Gaming Control Board counted an average of 1,555 slot machines at Mohegan Pennsylvania in August 2026, along with 57 live table games. Blackjack, roulette, craps and baccarat make up most of the banked games, and an Aristocrat gaming lounge groups that maker’s machines in one area. All of these are commercial casino slots, not lottery terminals.
Poker has a nine-table room that is completely smoke-free, with daily No Limit Hold’em and bounty tournaments and a bad-beat jackpot for cash and tournament play. The on-site sportsbook has a video wall and betting terminals, and Mohegan also runs a race and sportsbook in Allentown, Mohegan Pennsylvania at Lehigh Valley, with 27 screens and a full bar.
Hotel and spa
The Mohegan Pennsylvania hotel is a seven-storey building with 238 rooms, 218 standard and 20 suites, linked directly to the gaming floor. It includes Spa Sapphire, a salon, a fitness center and a covered porte-cochère. Every hotel guest must be 21 or older, so families coming for the racing usually stay in Wilkes-Barre or Scranton instead.
The hotel sells packages, and Momentum loyalty members book through their own account. The resort covers about 400 acres, and the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza, a separate hockey and concert arena in Wilkes-Barre Township that carries the Mohegan name, is a short drive away for guests combining a game or concert with a stay.
Restaurants and entertainment
Mohegan Pennsylvania lists 17 restaurants, bars and cafés, and Rustic Kitchen hosts The Cooking Show on Friday and Saturday nights, while The Hive Taphouse serves Sunday brunch. Breakers is the live-band bar, Embers Terrace and Party on the Patio move entertainment outdoors in warm months, and Bean and Vine Café & Wine Bar pairs piano music with coffee and wine.
Comedy runs at Wise Crackers Comedy Club, the Keystone Grand Ballroom hosts larger ticketed shows, and country singer Ernest was booked for November 14, 2026. The restaurants page groups venues by casual, fine dining and late-night options, and the 20th-anniversary promotions running through November 2026 add giveaways for loyalty members.
Getting there, nearby tracks and online play
The resort sits on Highway 315 near Interstate 81, under 10 miles from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, with more than 5,000 free parking spaces, and the resort sits about two hours from Philadelphia by road. Tioga Downs is the closest racino across the New York line, while Harrah’s Philadelphia and The Meadows are the state’s other harness tracks.
Downs Racing’s interactive gaming certificate covers Mohegan PA Casino, live since April 5, 2024 with more than 500 slots, table and live-dealer games; Unibet used the certificate from 2019. Online play is limited to adults of 21 physically in Pennsylvania, and limits are best set beforehand. The state racino overview has more context on the other licensees.