What appeared at times to be a political long shot became reality Tuesday when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed into law a bill that authorizes the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to jointly develop and operate the state’s third casino.

Malloy played this one smart, helping to unobtrusively guide legislation by sending signals of what he would accept and sign but choosing not to strongly advocate for any proposal, recognizing his support could become a political liability.

The governor made clear that he would not support legislation that would send the state pursuing fool’s gold in the form of an open competition for a third casino, endangering the revenues that flow from the two tribal casinos to the state.

Those signals from the administration were critical in directing legislative focus on approving plans for the jointly operated casino in East Windsor. There it will provide competition for the MGM Springfield casino expected to open in 2018 across the border in Massachusetts. That should help keep some casino patrons from the Greater Hartford area spending their entertainment and gaming dollars in Connecticut.

The planned jointly operated, commercial casino should mitigate the financial damage to the existing tribal gaming enterprises, improving the future prospects for the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort casinos here in southeastern Connecticut.

MGM doesn’t want the competition and fought hard, spending $1.6 million during the past legislative session on a lobbying campaign to try to block it. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen now must prepare a legal defense for the MGM legal challenge that is sure to follow, as it tries to achieve in court what it could not through the political process.

Under the new law, MMCT Venture, the tribal partnership, must forward to the state 25 percent of gross slot and table game revenue generated by the new casino, with 10 percent of the table game proceeds dedicated to tourism promotion. The existing casinos have been an important revenue source for Connecticut, sending $7 billion to the state over the years.

In signing the law, Malloy referenced the “longstanding partnership and compact with the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribal nations” and said this new expansion of that relationship “is about jobs.”

That partnership and those job prospects will both be stronger due to this law.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.