Bingo! That handbag you always wanted, that vacation, world-class entertainment, and gaming without having to take a trip to Vegas. That is what the western hemisphere’s largest resort/casino, Foxwoods, is hoping will soon take shape in the woods of Southeastern Connecticut. The 20-year-old Mashantucket Indian Tribe operated resort/casino has in the works an 85-store outlet mall concept with a focus on luxury brand stores.

Recently, Foxwoods brass announced that the luxury outlet mall will be managed by North Carolina-based shopping center management company – Tanger. Together with Tanger, Foxwoods looks to develop the proposed upscale shopping mall at their casino and attempt to make a physical connection between Foxwoods’ original casinos (opened in 1992), and the newer, more contemporary, MGM Grand at Foxwoods, which opened in 2008.

According to a report in The Day of New London, CT, Foxwoods officials have indicated that the mall will be “convertible” with an open air roof for taking advantage of the seasonally warmer months in New England — a first in shopping malls anywhere in the nation.

The resort/casino is reportedly in some substantial debt and looking to reinvent its image to stay ahead of its biggest competitor, Mohegan Sun, which has already expanded operations in New York State and invested a significant amount as it vies to be one of the three casinos approved for building in Massachusetts in the near future.

Foxwoods recently launched a new ad campaign this year, and has bumped up their media presence in 2012, focusing on their core market of visitors in Connecticut and surrounding Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The tribe’s hope with building the new luxury outlets is to attract more visitors who will seek Foxwoods as a more complete shopping and entertainment destination as opposed to just a gaming destination, and to prolong the stays of its hotel guests.

While this news is exciting and makes a lot of sense with the state of our sluggish economy in the Northeast, you have to wonder if they will be able to sustain the expansion, and quite frankly, whether or not it will be enough to attract new blood? And will this new venture cannibalize other shopping destinations in the state? How will local developers react?

Guess we’ll just have to ride this one out and see what happens.