High rollin' comes to New England.

While some Atlantic City casinos are in the throes of bankruptcy, the new Native American owned casino near Ledyard, Connecticut, is enjoying spectacular success.

Set approximately 12 miles north of Mystic, Connecticut, on the 2,000 acre Mashantucket Pequot reservation, the Foxwoods High Stakes Bingo and Casino cost $58 million to build and is expected to gross $100 million a year. Records do not have to be made public as it is privately owned.

Visitors are struck at once by the number of cars and buses parked in a sprawling lot that is serviced by a shuttle bus. Even with over 2,000 spaces, they are few and far between, on both a Saturday afternoon and early Saturday night, and the valet parkers are busy in the intermittent rain. Half a dozen State police cars are lined up at the intersection to manage the traffic for the four lane road, while surrounding back country roads boast "new traffic signal ahead."

Inside the 81,000 square foot beige building, a 22-foot waterfall is set into a bright and airy four-story atrium that is planted with trees and flowers. A small gift shop and a museum are reached from a staircase that overlooks the small pond. The museum and research center was briefly opened to the public but has been locked until the exhibits can be secured and signs put up. It seems the children could not keep from climbing on the woodlands wigwam or poking at the eyes of the mounted fox looking out a glass window to the pond. Dining rooms, a bar, and the casino floor are situated around the waterfall atrium.

After a U.S. Supreme Court decision ruled the Native Americans could offer full scale gambling on their reservation, New England Design was hired in early 1990 to expand the tribe's existing bingo-hall into a full size casino.

The color scheme has been kept to muted greens and pinks, more reminiscent of a flowering meadow than a glitzy casino. Native American motifs are explored in the carpeting and other decor. Connecticut Artisans created glass panels that depict flora indigenous to the reservation. These are hung above the gaming hall and also flank large bay windows overlooking the Tribal lands.

It is hard to tell if the gamblers appreciate their surroundings. The 46,000 square feet of gaming tables were jammed packed with players putting up minimum bets higher than those normally seen in Atlantic City casinos. "High stakes" is more than just a title and gamblers are pouring in from Providence, Hartford, Boston and New York. These stakes could be changed in the future, but right now, the players are dictating what the traffic will bear by their overwhelming presence.

In one area, an array of television screens keeps gamblers abreast of sports games and horse races with bets taken on the racing and soon on sports. What is new to the East Coast is a poker area, where players compete against each other, with the house providing a dealer. It also maintains a waiting list for seats at the 45 tables.

"We may not have slots but we have poker," explained Gary Chesky, advertising manager for Foxwoods. Electronic "slot" machines, using touch screen technology, are arrayed around the edges of the casino. Right now, the machines are free and are used for demonstration purposes. Players are able to try out the various games and learn the rules while Foxwoods waits for the State of Connecticut to authorize their use. In the meantime, it is as hard to find a seat to play the free games as it is to find a place at a gaming table.

"It's always like this," was heard from one employee after the other.

"We have a slack time for a couple of hours in the early mornings, but otherwise it's like this day and night," added a security guard. So far, he said, they have had a minimum amount of trouble considering approximately 13,000 visitors per day and taking into consideration the free drinks are served.

"We've been extremely pleased by the customer response," Chesky noted. "We haven't closed; we're open 24-hours."

The bingo section, which seats 2,400 patrons, also doubles as an night club for entertainers such as Kenny Rogers who was scheduled last weekend for the gala opening celebration. Normally, a full menu of bingo games is available and on one weekend day, the bingo parlor turned away an additional 200 patrons who were ready to pay the $250 high stakes entry fee. Most of the time, bingo games cost $15 to $25 in entry fees, while the Saturday St. Patrick's Day special included a Red Buttons show and free admission for Sunday bingo as well.

While many experienced dealers and other employees have been hired away from Atlantic City and Las Vegas, and held a steady repartee with players, most dealers still seemed new to their jobs after merely three weeks of fulltime play. The casino currently employs 2,300 people - 1,700 of whom are from Connecticut - and the employment office is still seeing 300 prospective workers a day for the remaining two-dozen positions, primarily as cashiers.

But more positions are possible as the tribe, together with New England Design, readies tentative plans for two new hotels, golf courses, a monorail and another casino. "These are just tentative plans," stressed Chesky.

One hotel is envisioned as having more than 200 luxury suites and streams while the other, with 250 rooms, will resemble a turn of the century New England Inn with an indoor pool and restaurant overlooking a one-acre landscaped courtyard. "The Tribal Council is still discussing and making changes," added Terry Bell, director of public relations and cultural resources for the Tribe. She said they are still unclear if the hotels will be built in phases or done all at once.

Foxwoods has already announced that the poker area will be moved downstairs while the upstairs table gaming area will be expanded another 10,000 square feet.

The tribe is also looking at the different aspects of the finances, particularly now that they have a steady income stream from the casino. Bell said the Foxwoods Casino was originally financed through a Malaysian family which also owns casinos in Malaysia and Australia as well as rubber plantations.

Right now, the casino is relying on hotels in the area to accommodate its gamblers. Local chain hotels, particularly the ones clustered around the I-95 interchange with Route 2, are reporting an upsurge in business and are running a casino-provided shuttle bus. They are also giving away buffet and show tickets. But the gamblers are sleeping all day and the hotels say they are finding it difficult to clean the rooms. Other local inns are meeting with casino representatives to see what packages they can work out.

The Steamboat Inn, a luxurious six room bed and breakfast on the water in Mystic was told it would be perfect for high rollers, since every room has a fireplace and jacuzzi.

"But what will we do with high rollers when they want something to eat in the middle of the night or their clothes cleaned?" wondered the innkeeper. "We're just not set up for that."

Indeed, one gambler moved out to a "cheaper hotel" after one night, telling her he needed more money to gamble with.

On the other hand, shop keepers in Old Mystic Village, a cluster of "gift shoppes" near the hotels and the Mystic Aquarium, said while March is usually "dead" they are finding plenty of customers, even in the middle of the week.

The Foxwoods casino was constructed under a tight deadline by the C.R. Kelwin Co. of Norwich, Connecticut. David Jacobson Associates of Ventnor, New Jersey prepared the operational floor designs while Fletcher Thompson created architectural and engineering drawings. Stanley Engineering of East Providence, Rhode Island was responsible for the site engineering, including the parking and utility cables.

Meanwhile, Stephen A. Wynn, president and chairman of Mirage Resorts which owns the Mirage Casino Hotel and two Golden Nugget Casinos in Las Vegas, is trying to convince the State of Connecticut's legislature to permit him to open a resort casino in Hartford in conjunction with a planned convention center. Governor Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. said he will veto any casino off the reservation.

Whether the Tribal boom will last is yet to be seen, but in the meantime, the tables are packed, and it's standing room only at the first Native American-run casino.