"We've known for a while of John McCain's childhood connection to the region, where he lived for a short period when his father was serving a stint here as a Navy submarine commander.

But it wasn't until the results of a New York Times investigation were published earlier this week that we learned the extent of McCain's involvement with another mainstay of eastern Connecticut culture, our casinos.

Turns out McCain not only co-authored the 1988 National Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, which allowed the Mashantucket Pequots to open a casino just a few years later, but he also, The Times story suggests, helped the Pequots and Mohegans keep their gambling duopoly intact in the spring of 2005, once the federal recognition of other Connecticut tribes promised competition.

Even more curious, McCain once bellied up to a high-stakes Foxwoods craps table, joined by the Pequots' Washington lobbyist, and took away thousands of dollars in winnings from a marathon dice session that didn't end until 2:30 a.m."

Get the Story:
David Collins: John Mccain, Gambling Man (The New London Day 10/1)
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