Mashantucket Tribe drops Pauma casino deal

Friday, September 25, 2009  

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut withdrew from a casino deal in California due to economic concerns, a spokesperson said.

The Pequots agreed to help the Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians with a $300 million casino. But they tribes dropped the project because "they were unlikely to secure the necessary funding to complete Pauma's project given the credit market conditions and the downturn in the economy both in California and nationwide," a spokesperson told The New London Day in a statement.

The deal fell through nearly a year ago, just as the economy was tanking. The Pequots are now facing "dire" financial conditions, according to the tribe's chairman, and Pauma Band is trying to get out of a gaming compact that requires the tribe to share more revenues with the state.

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Mashantuckets scrapped deal with Calif. tribe (The New London Day 9/25)