Raw bar experts compete in event on Sunday, January 18th
The raw bar gets a sweet deal when the sixth Annual Oyster Open comes to SUN WINEFEST at Mohegan Sun.  The event, sponsored by Bud Light, is part of the Grand Tasting on Sunday, January 18th, and is slated to kick off at 4:15pm on the Main Stage inside Mohegan Sun’s Uncas Ballroom.
The Oyster Open started out several years ago as a face-off between Boston and Cambridge restaurant staffers to see who had the best skill and acumen in the world of raw-bar seafood.  The competition has grown, and in its sixth year at SUN WINEFEST, shuckers are expected to apply from all over the Eastern Seaboard and Canada.
Participants will be challenged to open fifteen Atlantic Oysters within three minutes. The victor will claim a $3,500 cash prize, a two-night stay at Mohegan Sun’s luxury hotel, a lobster and oyster feast at Jasper White’s Summer Shack and a trophy belt. The winner is also invited to compete in the Mohegan Sun Oyster Open at the Taste of Mystic in September 2009. The second-place winner will receive a $1,000 prize and a trophy plaque, and the third-place finalist will be awarded $500.00 and a trophy plaque. 
Shuckers can apply from now through January 1st via the SUN WINEFEST website at sunwinefest.com. Click on the Oyster Open 09 button for an application form.
Last year’s Oyster Open victor was William “Chopper” Young of Wellfleet, MA.
Tickets for the Grand Tasting event on Saturday, January 17th and Sunday, January 18th are $70.00 for a one-day pass, and $110.00 for a weekend pass.   The Grand Tasting also includes celebrity chef cooking demonstrations, tastings of over 1,000 wines, world craft brewers and restaurateurs and the Chef Showdown presented by Contessa Premium Foods and Hatfield Quality Meats.
For more information on SUN WINEFEST 2009, visit sunwinefest.com.  For more information about Mohegan Sun, please visit mohegansun.com or call 1.888.226.7711.
SUN WINEFEST 2009 is a production of Life Marketing and Events, a West Hartford, Connecticut-based, full service firm that specializes in marketing, event management and production, public relations, sponsorship, advertising sales, creative design, promotions, publishing and more.
Mohegan Sun, owned by the Mohegan Tribe, is one of the largest, most distinctive and spectacular entertainment, gaming, shopping and meeting destinations in the United States.  Situated on 240 acres along the Thames River in scenic southeastern Connecticut, Mohegan Sun is within easy access of New York, Boston, Hartford and Providence and located 15 minutes from the museums, antique shops and waterfront of Mystic Country.  More information is available by calling 1.888.226.7711 or visiting mohegansun.com.