Mashantucket — Karen Irish was first in line at 4:30 a.m.

For hours afterwards, people joined her in an ever-growing queue that snaked between rope dividers outside Foxwoods Resort Casino’s new 2,200-seat High Stakes Bingo Hall.

Irish’s husband Edward and grandson Jacob soon arrived.

By the time play began at 10 a.m. Wednesday — opening day — the bingo hall was filling up quite nicely, its occupants — seemingly older Baby Boomers for the most part —settling on chairs on either side of long rows of tables. Cavernous to the uninitiated, the new hall, at 30,000 square feet, actually is smaller than its 50,000-square-foot predecessor, which seated around 3,000 people.

But the new hall’s definitely better lit, Karen Irish said.

“It’s so nice and bright. Cheerful,” she said. “I’ve been coming here for 27 years. I just love it.”

Back in February, during its 30th anniversary celebration, Foxwoods announced it would be opening a new bingo hall and converting the previous one into the Rainmaker Expo Center, which will provide up to 75,000 square feet of space for corporate meetings, trade shows and sporting events.

At Mashantucket, high-stakes bingo, which debuted in the late 1980s, predates Foxwoods’ opening, Jason Guyot, the casino’s president and chief executive officer, pointed out.

What better way to mark an anniversary than with a $7 million investment in a bingo hall?

Karen Irish, of Bolton, a Tolland County town 15 miles east of Hartford, said she’s made friends at the bingo tables over the years and has gotten to know some of the workers.

“You get to know them and you care about them,” she said. “It was sad so many workers didn’t come back after COVID. It’s like losing family members.”

Irish, 64, who’s been playing bingo since she was 13, brought her grandson along on his 18th birthday.

John and Phyllis Scurio of Leominster, Mass., said that except for the COVID-19 shutdown and last week, when bingo was shut down amid the transition to the new hall, they’ve been playing bingo at Foxwoods once a week for the past 25 years.

Their drive is about 90 minutes each way, John Scurio said.

“The system out front is a lot better; they’ve got eight windows selling cards,” he said. “Gasoline is a real problem. They should give out free gas cards (as prizes).”

The bingo hall wasn’t the only thing new at Foxwoods.

The Canopy Players Lounge on the casino’s restaurant level had a “soft” opening Wednesday ahead of a full opening on Friday. Accessible to more than 12,000 Foxwood’s Rewards cardholders, the space features a 150-foot long buffet, 225 seats and a panoramic view over forest treetops.

Another promised Foxwoods 30th anniversary upgrade, a refiguring of the area around the elevator that deposits patrons coming from the Grand Pequot garage, is in progress. A new chandelier, LED screens and stonework are in place.

Guyot declined to say how much Foxwoods is investing in the improvements beyond the $7 million it’s spent on the new bingo hall. He said site clearing for Great Wolf Resorts’ indoor water park development adjacent to the casino has begun. The Great Wolf Lodge at Mashantucket is scheduled to open in 2024.

Addressing the bingo crowd before play began in the new hall, Guyot said announcements about more Foxwoods amenities will be made in the months ahead.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com