Matt Rourke, Associated Press Gamblers play the slot machines yesterday at the new Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs casino in Plains, Luzerne County, near Wilkes-Barre.

PLAINS, Pa. -- Thousands of lights flashed and blinked on slot machines, while the deafening sound of bells, bongs and sirens went off. Pneumatic "confetti cannons" showered the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs with paper chips and streamers, while loudspeakers boomed out Gretchen Wilson singing "Here For The Party."

And were they ever! Several thousand slots gamblers poured into the first casino ever to open in Pennsylvania, where history was made yesterday.

After 18 months of planning and construction, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which for 10 years has operated a huge casino in Connecticut, opened its $72.6 million "temporary" casino in a two-story steel-and-glass building holding 1,096 slot machines at a 40-year-old harness racing track in Luzerne County, five miles east of Wilkes-Barre.

"We've been waiting for this a long time," said Rose Zemantauski of Moosic, 10 miles away. "I absolutely love it. It's gorgeous. I could sit at a slot machine for 12 hours."

"I would rather play cards, but my wife is a big slots girl," said her husband, Mike, who can't play cards at the casino because Pennsylvania doesn't allow table gaming. But he's still glad about the new casino, saying, "I'm getting tired of driving 185 miles to Atlantic City."

Also excited were two senior citizens wearing Steelers shirts with "Roethlisberger" on the back.

"We're from New York state, four miles over the border, but we love Pittsburgh because my husband had his kidney transplant at UPMC," said Dorothy Degen, who was standing in line with husband Edward to get a "players card," a piece of plastic the size of a credit card that tracks how long they play at a slot machine and earns them "rewards" such as free food, drinks and items at the gift shop.

There were seven long lines of customers who wanted to sign up for players cards, with at least 25 people in each line.

The crowd was especially large, yesterday being the first day, with about 1,800 people pouring through the doors in the first hour, said casino marketing director Jim Wise. Every slot machine was occupied for much of the day.

"Pennsylvania did the right thing by legalizing slots," said Andy Witinski of Hanover, a few miles from here. "It's a hassle to drive to Atlantic City. I'd rather spend my money here than in New Jersey."

The advent of slots is the first major change to legalize gambling in Pennsylvania since the state lottery started in March 1972.

"This is a tremendous day for Pennsylvanians as a new industry takes wing," said Doug Harbach, a spokesman for the state Gaming Control Board.

John Estey, a top aide to Gov. Ed Rendell, who strongly supported slots for 18 months before Act 71 was passed in July 2004, was on hand for the opening. "We're delighted. This is the first step toward property tax relief and economic development across Pennsylvania."

Mr. Rendell contends gaming will raise at least $1 billion to help lower property taxes, once all 14 new casinos are up and running.

The law authorizes 14 casinos, seven at racetracks, five at non-track locations (including one in Pittsburgh) and two smaller casinos at resort hotels, including, probably, one at Nemacolin Woodlands in Fayette County.

Six racetrack casinos were licensed first, and Mohegan Sun beat the others to the starting line.

Robert Soper, chief executive officer for Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, was trying to stay calm but admitted things were looking pretty good, especially for the first day.

"This is an exciting day, a truly momentous time for our organization, northeast Pennsylvania and really all of Pennsylvania," he said. "We are humbled and honored to launch the first casino in Pennsylvania."

There is no charge for parking or admission to the casino.

Mohegan Sun has invested a huge amount of money so far in the project. It bought the racetrack from Penn National Racing two years ago for $250 million; it spent $50 million for a slots license from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Commission; it spent $72.6 million to tear down part of the old track's grandstand, renovate the rest of the space into the casino, and buy the nearly 1,100 slots; and next spring it will start construction of a $150 million permanent casino, with a hotel, several new restaurants and a larger retail shop.

He said he wasn't really trying to be first, but there are some advantages, such as developing "brand loyalty" for Mohegan Sun among customers. The venture is the firm's first foray outside of Connecticut.

Competition among casinos for name recognition and brand loyalty is fierce among such big players as Harrah's, Bally's, Trump and others.

Most patrons yesterday seemed impressed with the temporary casino, which was an understated but still handsome building. It is two stories, with about a third of a slots in a nonsmoking section, and includes a large food court and three small restaurants.

The building is made of steel and glass, with a light-colored, grayish facade of stucco and steel panels 18 feet long and 30 inches high, and a baked-on enamel finish, said building construction manager Bob Becker.

Work will start in the spring on the permanent casino, to be built in a parking lot adjacent to the temporary facility, Mr. Soper said. It will hold about 2,000 slots. He hasn't decided how the use of the temporary casino may change.

Pocono Downs, like The Meadows in Washington County, is a harness track. The Meadows is expected to open its casino in May.

The next racetrack/casino will be at Philadelphia Park in Bucks County, expected to open in mid-December. Then in mid-January the third "racino" will open, at Harrah's at Chester Downs, a new harness track located along I-95 south of Philadelphia.

The Erie casino is due to open in February, and Penn National Race Course is scheduled to open its casino, about 20 miles east of Harrisburg, next fall.

Eventually there will be a seventh racetrack/casino in Pennsylvania, but only after a new harness track is licensed by the state Harness Racing Commission. That track license is still tied up in court battles.

One person who wasn't at yesterday's casino opening was Dianne Berlin, an official of CasinoFree Pennsylvania. She called slots gambling "a form of consumer fraud" and is asking state Attorney General Tom Corbett to seek a court injunction to stop slots operations "until he investigates and is satisfied that these machines don't violate consumer protection or fraud laws."

Her group and other anti-casino groups, such as No Dice, a Pittsburgh-based group, claim slots just prey on the weakness for gambling that some people have, causing them to wager money they can't afford to lose.

She said that if slots are meant to aid the horse racing industry, as state officials claim, slots gamblers should be required to bet on a horse race before they bet on slots. The horse racing season just ended at Pocono Downs and will resume in March.