Casino-expansion bills submitted by legislative committee
Two bills authorizing another Connecticut casino — one calling for an open, competitive process among bidders — emerged Wednesday from the state legislature’s Public Safety and Security Committee, setting the stage for a new round in an escalating debate.
House Bill No. 7239 would require the commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection "to develop and issue a request for proposals for the development, management and operation of a casino gaming facility in Connecticut ..."
The proposal would permit the commissioner to issue one casino license.
The other measure, Senate Bill No. 957, would authorize MMCT Venture, a partnership of the casino-owning Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, "to operate a casino gaming facility in Connecticut subject to certain conditions."
Specific language in the bills was not immediately available. The bills are expected to be aired at a public hearing the committee could hold as early as next week.
The tribes, respective owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, have been pursuing a third Connecticut casino they would operate jointly to counter the competitive impact of MGM Springfield, a $950 million resort casino being built in Massachusetts.
Persistent questions about whether the tribes' operation of a commercial gaming facility could jeopardize their exclusive gaming agreements with the state resurfaced last week during a committee forum. MGM Resorts International, the Las Vegas-based developer of the Springfield, Mass., casino, renewed its claim that Connecticut's interest in protecting state jobs and revenue generated by the casinos would be better served by "an open, transparent and competitive process."
The tribes this week announced that they would build their third casino in the north-central Connecticut town of East Windsor.
Sen. Tim Larson, D-East Hartford, co-chairman of the Public Safety and Security Committee, said some committee members thought third-casino opponents had been unfairly prevented from participating in last week's forum.
"We're trying to keep the process open," he said, referring to the consideration of bills dealing with gambling expansion.
Larson strongly supports MMCT's third-casino plan.
State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, whose district includes Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, also supports the tribes' bid to protect its existing casinos as well as state revenues. The casinos pay 25 percent of their slot-machine revenues to Connecticut.
"For me, this is about jobs in Connecticut for people who are already working in the gaming industry," she said. "The two tribes have been good corporate partners with the state. They've provided a lot of revenue for Connecticut, and they've worked through a lot of different issues in Connecticut, like any other large employers. They've proven themselves to be good partners."
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