I couldn't help but think of Donald Trump on Monday morning as Mohegan Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown talked about the tribe's plan to buy the 393-acre former Norwich Hospital property from Preston for $1.

Brown, who literally rode up to a Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut breakfast aboard a white Cadillac, appeared before media cameras to sell the deal.

The pitch, like many of Trump's, was rich in bravado and speculation and thin on specific details.

Brown said the tribe has the means to accomplish all the kinds of development that people in the region have dreamed of for the last 20 years, and things not yet even thought of.

It could include everything from glamour camping, an adventure theme park and the kind of year-round, synthetic skiing found in Dubai, to businesses related to growing submarine contracts.

The long laundry list of improbable mixtures also included housing, restaurants and business development he said he couldn't talk about.

The sky's the limit for the Mohegans, the chairman suggested, now that the tribe has won a gaming license in South Korea.

"We are now in a position to help that happen," Brown said about making development dreams for Norwich Hospital come true.

"We are a first-class, world-class business with worldwide contacts that are going to help us achieve what we haven't been able to achieve yet here in the state of Connecticut," said The Kevin.

Wow. And I thought they were desperate for a new casino in Connecticut to keep the one here in Montville afloat. Maybe not.

Of course all the big talk of year-round skiing and submarine development belies the specifics of the actual deal that is being rushed to Preston voters for approval Thursday.

In the deal, the tribe promises nothing in terms of development.

The fun stuff, the adventure theme park, glamour camping, restaurants, is, at this point, all talk from The Kevin.

The deal going to voters lays the groundwork for the tribe to acquire the land across the river from its casino for $1.

They put up an $11 million line of credit, which helps pay for some of the original cleanup, and, in the event nothing is built after five years, might net the town about $5 million in cash.

It's certainly a good deal for the tribe, which is acquiring a property that the state and federal governments have spent many million cleaning up, at a bargain price, with absolutely no obligation to develop it.

Maybe it's a good deal for the town, too, since it would reverse a bad decision town residents made by a close vote, to take the contaminated property from the state.

At least the tribe might start paying some taxes on the land, and the town might be rid of the responsibility to find a developer.

Still, it was disheartening to see so many politicians attending Brown's post-breakfast news conference hailing what they called "the project" and its new investment and jobs.

They swarmed around The Kevin and his television cameras like bees to honey, craving association with any new development, even fantasy.

It was especially unnerving to see a U.S. senator, Richard Blumenthal, the speaker at the chamber breakfast who called himself Brown's warm-up act, join the scrum before the TV cameras.

Like the politicians before him, Blumenthal stepped up to praise "the project," the job creation and the tribe's vision and courage.

I am not sure why buying a 400-acre decontaminated development site across the river from one of the world's largest casinos, for $11 million paid over five years, takes courage.

I took a tour of Preston to get a sense of voter reaction and got the sense not many people are paying attention, and those who are would be glad to welcome any new tax revenue.

One longtime business owner told me he supports the sale because he believes the town should have never taken ownership.

But he believes it will be a long time before anything is developed there.

He's willing to make a deal with The Kevin. But he's not buying into the big talk.

This is the opinion of David Collins.

d.collins@theday.com