Tribes clear legislative hurdle in bid for new casino in Connecticut

Wednesday, May 24, 2017  

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribe are getting closer to a new casino in Connecticut.

A bill to approve the facility cleared the state Senate early Wednesday morning. It now awaits consideration in the House.

"The Senate took us one step closer to saving more than 9,000 jobs and millions in state tax revenue," Mashantucket Chairman Rodney Butler told The Hartford Courant after the vote.

The tribes are pursuing the facility outside of the framework of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act so federal approval is not needed. The site of the proposed casino will not be taken into trust either.

Still, the tribes are taking steps to assure the state that they will continue to share slot machine revenues from their existing casinos, which are being operated pursuant to IGRA. At some point, they expect to ask the Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve an adjustment to their existing agreements.

The new casino would be located in East Windsor. The tribes chose the site in order to compete with a $950 million commercial casino going up just across the state line in Massachusetts.

Read More on the Story:
Senate Passes Satellite Casino In East Windsor (The Hartford Courant 5/24)
Senate Gives Thumbs Up To Tribal Casino Bill (CT News Junkie 5/24)
Tribes win casino fight in Senate, face battle in House (The Connecticut Mirror 5/24)
Senate OKs plan to build state’s 3rd casino (The Connecticut Post 5/24)
State senate passes measure approving casino proposal (Fox61 5/24)
State Senate Approves Third Casino In Overnight Vote; Bill Has Yet To Face House Vote (CBS Connecticut 5/24)
Jepsen: Letter From Federal Regulators Eases Concerns On Casino Expansion (The Hartford Courant 5/22)
Tribes say MGM's third-casino math doesn't add up (The New London Day 5/22)