Foxwoods Raises the Stakes with World's Largest Casino
Foxwoods Resort Hotel and Casino in Ledyard, Conn., broke ground on a $700-million expansion that will bring the facility up to 4.7 million square feet, making it the world's largest casino complex.

The 1.2-million-square-foot, 30-story tower consists of an 825-room hotel on 27 floors rising above a three-story casino and entertainment facility. The new facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2008.

Floor construction consists of flat-plat, conventionally reinforced concrete. The system offers economical construction while maximizing the number of stories within a given height—significant competitive advantages over steel-framed buildings. The project will use about 50,000 tons of cement.

Architect is Las Vegas-based Paul Steelman Design Group. Construction manager is Perini Building Co (Framingham, Mass.), structural engineer is Cagley Harman (King of Prussia, Pa.), and concrete contractor is Manafort Brothers.

PCA regional engineering manager Mike Mota has long worked with the Connecticut Concrete Promotion Council and other allies such as Manafort Brothers to promote concrete buildings in the area with seminars and workshops. (See Regional News below.)
Contact Mike Mota

San Diego Hosts Joint PCA-NRMCA Meeting
For the second consecutive year, PCA's Spring Meeting will be held in conjunction with the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association's Annual Convention. The meeting is scheduled for March 18-20, 2007, at the Hyatt Regency at the Aventine, La Jolla, Calif.

Slated to meet are the Boards of PCA, CTLGroup, and the Cement Association of Canada; the Education Foundation; the Legal Counsels Committee, and the Government Affairs Council.

Speakers include:

• Peter Francese, a widely recognized demographics and consumer trend expert
• Jason Jennings, well-known authority on business leadership and productivity and author of Think Big —Act Small
• Drew Meyer of Vulcan Materials will present the outlook for aggregates
• Ed Sullivan, PCA Chief Economist, will present his latest forecast for cement, concrete, and construction.

A guest program will feature a guided tour of the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park.
Contact Jan Farnsworth

PCA served as an advisor for the development of the initial-cost analysis and is working with the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute and the National Concrete Masonry Association to fund a life-cycle cost assessment.
Contact Steve Szoke

Cement Chemistry Conference Comes to Canada
The 12th International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement is scheduled for July 8-13, 2007, in Montreal. This is the first time the Congress has been held in North America since 1960. As the only international conference in this field, the Congress attracts top researchers and industry representatives from around the world.

The theme of the 2007 conference is "Cement Systems: A Knowlege-Based Innovative Approach." The conference is organized by the Cement Association of Canada, the Institute for Research in Construction, and the National Research Council of Canada.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available.
More information at www.ICCC2007.org

The section contains printed material and additional online reading material. Readers earn 1 AIA/CES LU hour of health, safety, and welfare credit for reading the section and passing the 10-question quiz that follows. Both print and digital versions of the section are available.
More information or to download

Connecticut Bets on Concrete: PCA's Mike Mota was invited as guest speaker by the Connecticut Concrete Promotional Council to discuss economical concrete buildings on January 9 to a local group of structural engineers, members of the Construction Specification Institute, as well as contractors and suppliers. This is the second seminar in a year where Mota has worked with local allies in Connecticut, including the contractor Manafort Brothers, to promote the use of concrete buildings to decision makers. (See Project of the Week above.)

Concrete Design in Atlanta: PCA's Mike Mota presented "Simplified Design of Concrete Buildings" to 40 structural engineers at Pruitt Eberly Stone, Inc., a large structural engineering firm in Atlanta, Ga. This seminar was given in partnership with Georgia Concrete and Products Association and the Southeast Cement Association, who provided several copies of PCA Notes on ACI 318-05 Code as well as the simplified design manual. PES Engineers are currently designing several concrete towers in the Atlanta market and Mota's discussion focused on the simplified design aspects as well as the use of pcaStructurepoint software to efficiently design concrete members.

Results From Last Week:
New Products Draw Crowds for World of Concrete
What is your primary reason for attending the upcoming World of Concrete trade show?

• Check out new products and equipment (43.10%)
• Network with industry colleagues (34.48%)
• Attend seminars and meetings (22.41%)