The last 16 months have been extremely busy for the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes. In September 2015 the two tribes formed MMCT Venture, a corporation dedicated to building a Hartford-area casino that could compete with MGM’s planned Springfield, Mass. facility. Fast forward to January 2017, and MMCT is closer than ever to making this vision a reality.

After accepting and evaluating two rounds of proposals from potential sites, the company has narrowed down the prospective host communities to two finalists: East Windsor and Windsor Locks. The site selection process is still ongoing, but has by no means stalled — earlier this month, East Hartford, Hartford and South Windsor were removed from consideration.

Despite all of this progress, some have questioned whether MMCT is moving at too slow a pace. While it’s true that the two tribes are acting carefully and conscientiously, this is for the best. The old adage that “Rome wasn’t built in a day” exists for a reason, and holds especially true when the stakes are as high as they now are in our state. Connecticut only has one shot to get this project right and keep thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars within our borders. Any decisions made too hastily by the two tribes could well doom a third casino before it opens.

To avoid this fate, MMCT has taken the time to know each of the communities it’s considering. This is the right move in that it will ensure that the relationship between casino and host community is, from the very beginning, mutually beneficial.

With the state’s deficit hitting $41.6 million in 2016 and analysts projecting it will reach $1.42 billion in the 2017-2018 fiscal year, legislators should welcome a new stream of revenue for the state. MMCT’s planned casino would fill this role and serve as an economic engine for Connecticut, generating $337 million in gaming and non-gaming revenue and almost $78 million in taxes.

In the coming months, MMCT is well positioned to achieve its goals. The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes’ commitment to protecting Connecticut jobs and revenue has never wavered. The time they’ve taken to find the best possible site has only strengthened their odds of putting forth a robust competitor to MGM Springfield. MMCT has given me every reason to put my faith in its planned casino. For the sake of our state’s future I urge state legislators and opinion leaders to do the same.

Tony Sheridan is the president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut.