The Connecticut Senate and House passed a bill that allows the state’s two gaming tribes to open talks with communities about operating a joint satellite casino. The bill now goes to Governor Dannel Malloy to approve.
The purpose of the bill is to react against the eventual opening of the $800 million MGM Springfield in nearby Massachusetts. Communities that want to be hosts to casinos may apply. The tribes would issue a request for proposals. Any agreement reached between the tribes and communities would be subject to review by the state attorney general.
Democratic Rep. Stephen Dargan, co-chairman of the General Assembly’s Public Safety Committee, was quick to point out that the bill does not immediately expand gaming in the Nutmeg State.
“I think we’re taking a strong position stating how important jobs are,” Dargan said.
Another bill would still need to be passed to allow the new casino or casinos. The current bill merely creates a process for choosing the host community and developer.
The Senate vote was 20-16 in favor of the bill, and the House passed it by a healthier margin, 88-55.
The original bill was for three satellite casinos. Foxwoods Resort and the Mohegan Sun say they need the satellites to keep the Bay State’s planned three casino resorts and one slots parlor from draining off millions of dollars and thousands of jobs.
Attorney General George Jepsen warned lawmakers that their original bill that called for three satellite casinos was veering dangerously close to violating the U.S. Constitution and the state tribal gaming compacts. At the request of legislative leaders Jepsen provided a letter saying that the new legislation would not impact the existing compact or raise other legal issues.
Besides Massachusetts, competition is increasing in New York and Rhode Island.
Sharkey told the Associated Press, “I think this is just a very preliminary step designed to figure out how the tribes might consider expanding if, in fact, other things fall into place.”
The bill doesn’t identify possible locations for a casino, but the region most often talked about is between the state capital of Hartford and the Massachusetts border. Communities that have indicated interest include Windsor Locks, East Windsor and East Hartford.
Any agreement reached between a host community and the tribes would need to be approved by the legislature.
Ted Taylor, owner of a dozen off-track betting facilities and Bobby V’s Restaurant and Sports Bar in Windsor Locks is lobbying strongly for his location, which is near the Bradley Airport.
He told the Republican, “We’re still discussing the various different options that may be appropriate.”
Governor Dannel P. Malloy has said several times that this isn’t his bill and he is leaving it up to lawmakers. After the bill passed, aides said he would review the bill and determine if it would work. Like Jepsen, he’s concerned expanded gaming could endanger the compacts in place, and expose the state to even more casinos from tribes who have yet to achieve federal recognition.
The issue of allowing more casinos in the state is not popular with the general population, according to recent polls. The Connecticut Alliance Against Casino Expansion demonstrated outside of the state capital last week to oppose passage in the House.
Opponents say that building a “convenience casino” would inevitably lead to more casinos at a time when the region’s casino market is near or at saturation.
Davida Foy Crabtree of the United Church of Christ told the Republican that more casinos mean more destroyed families. “We cannot, we must not allow any more casinos—not this one and not any others in the future,” she said.
Senator Tony Hwang, who voted against the bill, called on House members to listen to voters who oppose gaming expansion.
The two gaming tribes are not just relying on more casinos to staunch the flow of money out of the state. Last week Foxwoods Resort Casino opened a $129 million outlet center designed to attract a younger crowd and build up a non-gaming market in what it hopes to sell as a destination resort—not just a casino.
The 80-store outlet will attract shoppers who may never set foot inside to gamble, Felix Rappaport, chief executive officer of Foxwoods told Fox Business Network.
He said, “There are lots of great customers who barely gamble,” he said. “They come by for the spa, to play golf. We really want to focus on being a destination resort. It only makes sense as an industry that we become less gaming-centric.”
The Mohegan Sun recently announced that it is building a second hotel in Uncasville. The price tag on the hotel is $120 million and, like the outlet store, it aims to attract a younger crowd in their 20s and 30s.
Gaming experts note that two thirds of slots users are women aged 40 and older. The action by Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods is part of an expansion of non-gaming amenities by casinos that began about a decade ago in Las Vegas where half of the activities are non-gaming. Connecticut is beginning to catch up to that trend.
