The Connecticut Legislature has begun debating a bill that aims to release the state’s two federally recognized tribes from the legislative limbo that has been preventing them from proceeding with the development of a planned satellite casino in East Windsor for quite some time now.
Back in 2015, state lawmakers gave the green light to the Mohegan Tribe and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe to establish jointly a satellite casino in East Windsor, in the north of Connecticut, to blunt competition from MGM Springfield in neighboring Massachusetts.
Each of the two federally recognized tribes already operates a casino resort in Connecticut, but lawmakers and casino officials have been concerned about the impact of the $950-million hotel and casino resort Las Vegas giant MGM Resorts International launched last summer in Springfield. MGM Springfield is the first property of this kind in the region and many believe that it poses a big threat to Connecticut’s two casino complexes.
The establishment of a new casino operation in East Windsor aims to keep gambling money and thousands casino jobs within the state.
To build jointly the planned Tribal Winds Casinos, each of the two tribes needs to have its existing compact with the state amended. However, the amended compacts also need approval from the US Department of the Interior. And that approval has become a major hindrance in the eventual materialization of the casino scheme.
There are four gambling-focused bills before the Connecticut Legislature this legislative session, and one of those bills is primarily concerned with removing the federal obstacle preventing the Mohegans and Mashantucket Pequots from moving forward with their plan.
Powerful Lobbyism
The Connecticut Public Safety Committee held a public hearing earlier this week on the four gambling bills, seeking input about the future of the state’s gambling industry. As mentioned above, one of the bills aims to remove the requirement for federal approval of the tribe’s amended compacts with the state.
A second bill, one spearheaded by MGM Resorts International, calls for the realization of a competitive process that would allow interested parties to bid for the right to build a full-scale casino resort rather than a limited satellite operation. MGM has been pitching a plan to develop a $700 million hotel and casino complex on the Bridgeport waterfront.
Meanwhile, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is waiting to have its renewed compact with Connecticut signed by the US Department of the Interior. The federal government agency has recently given the nod to the Mohegans’ renewed agreement. Officials for the two tribes believe that the Department of the Interior is delaying its decision due to interference and powerful lobbyism from MGM Resorts International.
During the public hearing this week, East Windsor’s First Selectman Robert Maynard said, as quoted by the Journal Inquirer, that he is not sure that “MGM really wants to build a casino in Bridgeport, but they do want to slow down the building of [the tribal]
casino.”
The two tribes have warned that they would stop sharing a portion of their slot machine revenues with the state, if a bidding process that would enable out-of-state companies to compete for a gaming license is launched. The Mohegans and the Mashantucket Pequots have collectively contributed nearly $8 billion over the past two decades to Connecticut coffers.
The legalization of sports betting is another gambling issue on this year’s legislative agenda. And the state’s two federally recognized tribes and MGM have clashing views on that matter, as well. Tribal officials maintain that sports gambling is an activity that falls under their existing compacts with Connecticut and that they should be granted the exclusive right to operate betting services, should the practice become legal in the state.
Other interested parties, MGM included, call for a competitive process that would pave the way for more wagering operators to participate in Connecticut’s regulated space.
Of Connecticut’s neighboring states, Rhode Island is the only one to have gone live with sports betting. New York is expected to launch first legal offering later this year, while Massachusetts is believed to be giving the legalization of the practice a serious thought.
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