Project
Casino

Client
Sun International

Electrical Contractor
McPhee Electric,
Farmington, Conn.

Lighting Design
Focus Lighting,
New York, N.Y.

Equipment Providers
Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.,
Coopersburg, Pa.

Lutron Products
GRAFIK 6000 preset lighting control system

Mohegan wall station

Dimming Panels

GRAFIK Eye Online Videos

GRAFIK.systems Products
GRAFIK Eye 2000
GRAFIK Eye 3500/4500
GRAFIK Eye 3000
GRAFIK Eye 4000
GRAFIK Eye Slider Control
GRAFIK Eye 3000/4000 Accessory Controls
GRAFIK 6000

GRAFIK.systems Custom Controls

GRAFIK.systems Software
GRAFIK Eye Designer_TM
Liaison_TM

Application Notes

Installation Instruction Sheets

Product Specifications

Specification Submittal Sheets

Lighting Control Case Studies

AMP

Benetton

Banana Republic

Boca Raton Resort and Club

California Cafe

Diesel

Emporio Armani

Harrah's Range Steakhouse

Mohegan Sun Casino

One Whitehall Place

St. Anne's Church

Teleconferencing (PDF)

University of Toronto

Westin Seattle

The Phoenician

Wiring Diagrams

Lutron FAQs

Project Requirements Ability to handle large space Controls must be easy to operate, quick to change Quick shipment and installation necessary for fast pace of project; dimming panels must be able to handle multiple sources, be shipped pre-wired, and offer flexibility to alter lighting system later Ability to install complimentary lighting control independent of main system 1,500 lighting circuits

"A job like this would normally take two-and-a-half to three years," said Marcus McPhee, vice president of McPhee Electric, of the 12-month construction of Mohegan Sun Casino on the Mohegan tribe's reservation in Uncasville, Conn. "We had to have the system designed and released in 10 months. We worked around the clock with three shifts, six days a week."

As for lighting the large space, the owners wanted dramatic lighting effects to highlight the various themes in the casino. Every detail of the Mohegan Sun was designed for optimum effect, to create a mood or enhance a gaming or entertainment activity. The main casino was divided into four sections and designed to look like an old Indian village. Each area of approximately 500,000 sq. ft. depicts the village as it would appear in each of the four seasons. Although all were part of a large space, there needed to be adjustable lighting in areas within those sections, such as five restaurants, entrances, and pedestrian mall, as well as areas on the perimeter of the casino such as a bingo hall and large sports bar. They also wanted the ability to dim and brighten the lights quickly and easily for creating moods or highlighting specific functions. The owners liked the lighting designer's ideas, but were afraid they would be too costly to implement.

"We needed a high-quality lighting control system that could produce the right visual environment throughout this big facility with the flexibility to handle a multitude of different situations at a cost the owners could live with," said McPhee.

McPhee Electric chose Lutron's GRAFIK 6000 lighting control system, which controls lighting for the four sections through a single central control panel in which scenes are preset by a personal computer. The restaurants each were given their own individual GRAFIK Eye system since they had individual needs separate from the main system.

McPhee chose GRAFIK 6000 for its quick installation (GRAFIK 6000 dimming panels are pre-wired and delivered quickly) and for its Window™-based software which allowed easy zoning and scene setting. This simplified design and engineering and made the installation easy to complete within the appropriate deadline.

"The casino is beautiful with a lot of attention to detail," said Peter Manning, who served as McPhee's on-site project engineer. "There are trees, stones, water scenes, you name it. We had to create feature lighting for each area. We illuminated everything from animal skins to Native American artwork."

Overall, the GRAFIK 6000 system provides the design flexibility the casino owners wanted within budget and on schedule. At the same time, the system will save energy costs for them down the road. And as the casino fine-tunes its gaming operation, GRAFIK 6000 can also accommodate changing lighting requirements for different activities without adding expensive new equipment and time-consuming alterations.