State Rep. Stephen Dargan, co-chairman of the legislature's Public Safety and Security Committee, said Monday that he'll try to arrange a meeting that includes committee members, representatives of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration and the state's two gaming tribes to discuss the possibility of a third Connecticut casino.

No public hearings on the matter would take place before the upcoming legislative session, which begins in January, said Dargan, a West Haven Democrat.

Malloy, meanwhile, said he doesn't believe Connecticut residents want more casinos.

Representatives of the Mohegan Tribe caused a stir last week when they revealed they're interested in pursuing another casino in the state. Mitchell Etess, the tribe's top gaming official, said the Mohegans and the Mashantucket Pequots could collaborate on a northern Connecticut project that would go head-to-head with MGM Springfield, the western Massachusetts casino expected to open in 2017 or 2018.

The Mohegans and the Mashantuckets own Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino, respectively. The tribes' gaming compacts with the state give them the exclusive right to operate casinos.

"I'm trying to get together with my co-chairman (Sen. Joan Hartley, D-Waterbury), the ranking Republicans on the committee and tribal officials and have some preliminary discussions with the executive branch to see if there's any consensus," Dargan said.

If such a consensus exists, it could lead to "some kind of a bill" being presented during the legislative session, which would require a public hearing, he said.

Malloy, addressing reporters in Hartford, said he learned about talk of another Connecticut casino while he was out of the state last week.

"It's not something I've been actively thinking about or pursuing …," he said. "I don't see Connecticut doing it, but you know that's a legislative matter, at least initially, to be taken up.

"I don't think there's a consensus in Connecticut that people want a lot more gaming," he said, noting public opposition in recent years to state plans to introduce keno, a lottery-like game of chance, in bars and restaurants. "I'll have discussions with legislative leaders if and when they want to have those discussions, but I'm not generating them."

Dargan said he's talked to tribal representatives about expanded-gambling opportunities in the state but has had no discussions with the chairman of either tribe. He said he's aware of no specific proposal for another casino.

"They've been good corporate neighbors," he said of the Mohegans and the Mashantuckets, who've sent billions of dollars into the state's coffers over the past two decades. "We need to make them as competitive as possible. How do we do that? I don't have the answer right now. I'm not proposing casinos on our borders all over the state, in Greenwich, Enfield and Stonington. That's not my proposal. My proposal is to have communication, to see if we can do anything."

In Massachusetts, gaming's windfall for the state reached $195 million Monday when MGM paid the $85 million licensing fee for its $800 million Springfield casino. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission said the payment was submitted electronically. Previously, Wynn Resorts, which is set to build a $1.6 billion casino in Everett, paid the $85 million fee for the Greater Boston casino license, while Penn National paid a $25 million licensing fee for the slots parlor it's developing in Plainville.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com

Twitter: @bjhallenbeck