First, the Interior Department sat on both amended gaming compacts by Connecticut’s two casino tribes, the Mohegans and the Mashantucket Pequots for most of a year.
Then, the department took the requested action and published one of the amended compacts, that of the Mohegans, in the Federal Register, thus making it legal. That was two weeks ago. But, to the chagrin of the Pequots, and the state’s senators and representatives, Interior is now sitting on that compact.
The third, satellite casino the tribes want to build in East Windsor requires both compacts be published in the Register.
This has prompted the congressional delegation to demand that the investigation by the Office of the U.S. Inspector General into the Interior Department’s actions (or inactions) be widened.
U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Representatives John Larson and Joe Courtney note that federal law requires the department to either approve, reject or allow the compact to take effect without action within 45 days of receipt.
The IG already began an investigation in April, however the latest “inaction” is further fueling the irate Connecticut lawmakers. They are demanding that the investigation be widened to include the timing of the department’s decision regarding the Mohegan agreement and the delay on the Pequots’ compact.
They sent a follow-up letter to the IG. “We remain deeply concerned about the propriety of the actions of the Department of the Interior officials,” they wrote. “Further, the timing of the decision by the department to publish the Mohegan compact amendment more than six months after federal law required and the failure of the department to provide similar effect to the Mashantucket Pequot amendment raises additional questions and concerns which the inspector general should review.”
The argue that the delays call into question whether the department is carrying out its trust responsibilities to tribes. They quote from a February article in Politico that raised questions of conflict of interest about the Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, who declined to visit with members of the delegation, but whose schedules show he met with elected representatives from Nevada who may have been lobbying to keep the compacts from being published because Nevada-based MGM Resorts opposes the East Windsor casino. That casino would be in direct competition with the MGM Springfield that is opening this August.
The longer the publishing of the compact is held up, the longer before the tribes can begin construction of the third casino, which they plan to spend $300 million on as a bulwark against the effect the MGM casino will have on their existing casinos, the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods.
The compacts spell out how much the tribes will pay the state out of casino revenues, which they must do as long as they have exclusive gaming rights in the state.
So far, the Interior Department is not commenting.
The tribes and the state of Connecticut sued the department earlier this year in an attempt to force the matter.
Bridgeport Casino
At the same time, MGM’s counterthrust at the tribes, its $675 million proposal for a commercial Bridgeport casino that has been debated in this legislative session without action, now appears to be inactive.
This may have something to do with the fact that MGM just announced purchase of a racino in New York State: the Yonkers Raceway. Lawmakers who support a Bridgeport casino didn’t mention that development however but did say they lacked the time to assemble enough votes this session.
House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said in a press conference last week that the issue is too complicated to take up in the time remaining. The Speaker said he wants the state to adopt a “comprehensive gaming strategy” for developing gaming before he will support calling for commercial bids.
Bridgeport lawmaker Rep. Steve Stafsfrom, one of the strongest support of a Bridgeport casino, commented, “The bill to allow for an open, competitive request for proposal (RFP) process received strong, bipartisan support out of the legislature’s Public Safety Committee. Remember, this bill does not authorize the construction of a new casino; it merely allows an RFP process to move forward. Based on the results of that RFP, lawmakers will be able to act in a more informed way on a more comprehensive gaming strategy for Connecticut in the next legislative session.”
He promised that he and other Bridgeport representatives would work with the leadership to push for a vote.
A spokesman for Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, who is a candidate for governor, added, “It was very, very important to keep the issue moving forward.”
