Casino Stalker | Connecticut | Litigation

Connecticut tribes oppose further study of proposed third casino

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Mohegan Tribe Chairman Kevin Brown, left, and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Chairman Rodney Butler. Photo from CT Jobs Matter

Leaders of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribe testified against a bill that would require additional study of a potential new casino in Connecticut.

The tribes already commissioned their own report that warns of significant job and revenue losses due to increased competition in New England. A new study would only hinder their efforts and hurt the state, leaders said.

"We already know the answer. We know that we are going to lose thousands of jobs, hundreds of millions in revenue," Mashantucket Chairman Rodney Butler told lawmakers at a hearing on Thursday, The Hartford Courant reported.

The tribes have solicited bids to open a casino that would compete with a $950 million facility that's under construction in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, just a few miles from the state border. They have yet to select a site and they will need to return to the Connecticut Legislature to approve their plan.

The New England Casino Race: Tribal and commercial gaming facilities in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island

MGM Resorts International, the developer of the Springfield casino, and the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, a state-recognized tribe, are working together to derail the new casino. Both have filed lawsuits in federal court, protesting their exclusion from Special Act 15-7, which restricts the bidding process to the Pequots and Mohegans.

The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation has long wanted to open a casino but cannot do so under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act because its petition for federal recognition was denied by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Litigation failed to overturn the decision and it is extremely unlikely that the tribe could gain legislative recognition due to local opposition and general opposition in Congress.

A splinter Schaghticoke group, known as the Schaghticoke Indian Tribe, plans to revive its own petition, The Connecticut Mirror reported, but it's not clear whether that effort would succeed.

Get the Story:
Tribal Leaders Say Further Gambling Study Not Needed (The Hartford Courant 3/10)
Connecticut tribes testifying about 3rd casino in state (WWLP 3/10)
Schaghticoke group planning bid for federal recognition – and a casino (The Connecticut Mirror 3/10)
Mashantucket Pequot, Mohegan chairmen will not oppose Schaghticoke tribe's bid for federal recognition (The New London Day 3/10)
Third casino plan tripped up by tribe’s lawsuit (Fairfield County Business Journal 3/10)