Mohegan - About a dozen state legislators from southeastern Connecticut went on a Mohegan Sun-led tour of the property less than a week after casino officials announced plans for a new $120 million hotel, and amid reports of likely legislation to expanded gaming in the state.

"This property - we're probably not super objective - but we believe it's one of the great destinations on the East Coast and in the country. It really is a tourist destination," said Mohegan Sun CEO and soon-to-be president of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority Bobby Soper before leading the legislators on a roughly hour-long walk through the facility.

Put on by the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau, the tour was dubbed "behind-the-scenes," but the majority of the areas within the 3 million-square-foot facility that the legislators toured were accessible to the public.

The legislators did get a look at the back of the house where they walked through the cafeteria, saw two employees playing an intense game of ping pong and passed through a hallway featuring employee art-work. They also saw the Royal Suite, the largest casino accommodation at 3,500 square feet.

State Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, who is a member of the legislature's Public Safety and Security Committee, which oversees legalized gambling and is historically where gaming legislation starts, said the information session was designed to understand the expansion of gaming legislation.

Several other committee members also attended the tour.

Asked whether he had any concerns about the expansion of gaming, Formica said, "Well certainly you don't want to expand an economy around gambling."

"But this corporate team has worked hard to develop a diversification plan that has become evident in some of the businesses that they're opening and sponsoring... I think we have to protect what we have in terms of jobs because they did fill a void and fortunately Electric Boat is beginning the ramp up situation. A strong economy is diverse so we need a little bit of everything in order to make it work," added Formica, who owns the Flanders Fish Market and has done business with the Mohegan Sun.

Mohegan officials first suggested months ago that the tribes could open a slots parlor north of Hartford to keep state residents from "defecting" to MGM Springfield, the Massachusetts casino that MGM Resorts International is about to start building and expects to open by the end of 2017. Casinos also have been licensed in Everett, Mass., outside Boston; and in upstate New York.

"Certainly the developer of that casino is world-renowned and will be stiff competition, so what is it that we can do to best protect it and I think that's what we all have to look at and I think that's incumbent on every member of this committee to evaluate what's going on," Formica said.

The legislators also toured the ballroom, the area where the new hotel will be and two of three entertainment venues including the 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun arena.

As Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, explained, "a lot of my questions were revolving around 'What are you doing? How much does this cost? What are you spending?'"

"I'm always interested in what we're doing for tourism because any money spent on tourism has a direct value back to the state," she said, adding that the exact ratio depends on whom you ask.

Osten said when she asked how much Mohegan Sun is spending in the state on advertising, the response was $40 million.

When asked whether she would support expanding gaming in the state, she said, "I would be supportive of keeping Connecticut jobs in Connecticut and that's what I'm looking at."

"If we are looking at expanding gaming, are we looking at expanding gaming for what reason? As far as I'm concerned if it gets jobs to stay in Connecticut, that's important and that's what I'm going to look for," she added.

j.bergman@theday.com

Twitter: JuliaSBergman