Tribes to begin narrowing field of proposed casino sites
Groton — Leaders of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes announced Monday they expect to soon narrow the number of Hartford-area municipalities being considered to host a casino.
The list of contenders — East Hartford, East Windsor, Hartford and Windsor Locks — will likely be trimmed in an “intermediate” phase and then pared to a sole candidate after negotiations take place with those left in the running, the tribes’ chairmen said at a press conference at Paul’s TV on Bridge Street.
They hope to announce the results of the first round of eliminations “in a couple weeks,” said Kevin Brown, the Mohegan chairman.
The Mashantuckets and the Mohegans, respective owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, are jointly pursuing a Hartford-area casino to compete against MGM Springfield, a $950 million resort casino under construction a few miles from Connecticut’s northern border.
Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantuckets, said MMCT Venture, a partnership between the two tribes, has made “substantial progress” in vetting the proposals, a process he said was complicated by the number of towns that responded.
“Municipalities reached out to us with open arms,” Butler said. “That's made it more challenging.”
Originally, the tribes had hoped to settle on a prospective casino site by Dec. 15, a deadline they abandoned months ago. During the current session of the General Assembly, they also were expected to seek legislation authorizing a commercial casino on nontribal lands. Without enactment of such a law, a so-called "third casino" could not go forward.
Butler said the tribes are now meeting with state lawmakers to draft legislation that would “button-up” legal questions related to the process. Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, built on the tribes’ respective reservations, are considered tribal rather than commercial casinos. Under agreements, or compacts, with the state, the Mashantuckets and the Mohegans have the exclusive right to operate gaming in Connecticut.
MGM Resorts International, the Las Vegas-based operator developing the Springfield casino, filed suit against Connecticut officials over the 2015 law that allowed the tribes to form a joint venture to accept casino site proposals.
"As a general matter, any changes to the existing agreements between the state and the tribes would need to be executed by the governor and likely would need to approved by the General Assembly,” Robert Blanchard, deputy director of communications for the state Attorney General’s Office, said Monday in a statement. “Our office's role in any such efforts would be limited to providing legal advice to the governor or legislature.
“As for MGM's legal challenge, our motion to dismiss is now fully briefed and awaits a decision by the court. We do not know whether the court plans to hear oral argument prior to deciding our motion."
By holding their press conference at Paul’s TV, the tribes hoped to focus attention on the casinos’ economic impact on small businesses.
“It’s fitting to be here,” said Brown, the Mohegan chairman. “The message is that it’s not just jobs at the casinos (at stake) but that vendors across the entire state of Connecticut that … benefit from the casinos.”
Gary Paul, owner of Paul’s TV, said he values his relationship with the casinos, which he said "always" give him an opportunity to bid on work. He said two of his 12 employees have jobs because of the business the casinos provide.
When the Mohegans opened an Arooga’s franchise on reservation land last year, Paul’s TV provided the restaurant with more than 100 TV screens.
“I liken it to BRAC,” Paul said, comparing the prospect of a significant downturn in the casinos’ business to the federal government’s Base Realignment and Closure Commission, which in the past has considered recommending the shuttering of the submarine base in Groton.
“Small businesses are collateral damage” in such cases, he said.
Tony Sheridan, president and chief executive officer of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, attended the news conference.
“We need to protect them,” he said of the casinos and the jobs they provide.
Twitter: @bjhallenbeck
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