Schaghticoke Tribal Nation files suit against Connecticut casino law

Monday, March 7, 2016

The Schaghticoke Tribal Burial Ground in Kent, Connecticut. Photo by Nettie Hill

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The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation is still trying to get into the casino game in Connecticut.

The tribe formed an entity to solicit bids for a casino but was told that it was ineligible under Special Act 15-7. The law restricts the process to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribe, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said last month.

Merrill is now the target of a complaint that was filed in federal court on Monday. Excluding the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation from the process violates the U.S. Constitution and the Connecticut Constitution, it alleges.

"By enacting a scheme that expressly and effectively provides that 'no others need apply,' the act is unlawfully discriminatory," the complaint reads. "Indeed, though the state has a legal obligation to treat equally and fairly, and to support equally, all sate-recognized Native Americans in Connecticut, the act deprives all Native Americans who are not members of the favored tribes of an equal opportunity to plan and develop a new commercial casino."

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

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Chief Richard L. Velky held a press conference at the courthouse in Hartford to announce the suit. He acknowledged that MGM Resorts International, a non-Indian company, is helping fund the case, according to news reports.

MGM Resorts filed a similar lawsuit last summer because it can't participate in the process either. The company is building a $950 million casino in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, just a few miles from the Connecticut border.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribe pushed for Special Act 15-7 out of concerns about the competition. They have yet to select a site for their casino and must return to the Connecticut Legislature for final approval.

Get the Story:
Schaghticokes file suit for casino rights (The Connecticut Post 3/7)
Schaghticoke Indians and MGM Team Up to Fight Casino Law (The Hartford Courant 3/7)
MGM Funds Schaghticokes' Lawsuit Against Third Casino Plan (WNPR 3/7)
Schaghticoke Tribe to Sue State Over Casino Plans (WWLP 3/7)
MGM helping fund Schaghticoke's lawsuit (The New London Day 3/7)
MGM-backed study finds southwestern Connecticut to be better location for 3rd casino than Hartford area near MGM Springfield (The Springfield Republican 3/3) Related Stories:
Connecticut tribes continue looking at sites for potential casino (02/24)
Connecticut tribes might face roadblock in plan for new casino (2/19)
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation sees gaming revenue gains (2/12)
Schaghticoke Tribal Nation again told it cannot accept casino bids (02/11)
Schaghticoke Tribal Nation insists on pursuing Connecticut casino (02/10)
Tribes in Connecticut still working on process for potential casino (2/9)
Schaghticoke Tribal Nation questions exclusion from casino process (02/05)
Connecticut won't allow another tribe to pursue potential casino (02/03)
Don Vaccaro: Connecticut tribes need another casino to compete (2/1)
Airport touts hotel as spot for new tribal casino in Connecticut (1/28)
Opinion: Connecticut puts too much focus on a new tribal casino (1/21)
Connecticut tribes see mixed results in slot machine revenues (1/15)
Site identified as potential location for tribal casino in Connecticut (1/6)
Tribes in Connecticut delay decision on host for potential casino (1/5)