The Connecticut legislature continues to debate competing bills, one that would authorize the state’s gaming tribes, the Mohegans and Pequots to operate a jointly controlled casino near the boundary with Massachusetts under the joint MMCT authority, and the other, pushed by MGM International, that would open up the bidding to commercial casino developers, including MGM.
While the tribal casino is seen as a way to defend the state’s existing casino industry from the $950 million MGM Springfield that is rising 14 miles away, MGM sees that effort as an existential threat and is pulling out all the stops to fight it.
It filed a federal lawsuit to stop the existing law claiming that the law violates the constitutional guarantee of due process. It lost that suit, although it has appealed. It is financially supporting Schaghticoke tribe of Kent as it fights the MMCT and has hired legal heavy hitters former Senator Joe Lieberman and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
The first bill would authorize the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to build a satellite casino in East Windsor, on non-tribal land, to preserve the state’s share of Indian gaming, which is expected to be $267 million this year.
The second bill would direct the Departments of Consumer Protection and Economic and Community Development to create a regulatory framework for issuing requests for proposals from developers for a commercial casino anywhere in the state.
Legislative watchers say the bills appear to have about the same numbers of supporters. Rep. Joe Verrengia, chairman of the public safety and security committee, which oversees gaming, observed, “I’ve never seen an issue that people are so divided on.”
State Attorney General George Jepsen has warned that the first bill could threaten the state’s existing source of revenue and invite court challenges. Jepsen believes it could threaten the existing state tribal gaming compacts, even if the tribes themselves agree to an amendment to the compacts. They have produced a letter from the Bureau of Indian Affairs expressing the opinion that this is not an issue, but the opinion is not legally binding.
House Majority Leader Matt Ritter reacted to that eight-page opinion: “There are a lot of us who are nervous and concerned about the language in his opinion. That matters and it’s a difficult hurdle to overcome, frankly.”
Yet the second bill could kill the existing state tribal gaming compact by ending the exclusivity agreement, which means the tribes could operate without paying the state anything.
Governor Dannel P. Malloy has so far remained above the fray, declining to express an opinion.
Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff calls the MGM bill “a stall tactic,” adding, “This issue has been around for three years. There’s no logical reason to delay this any further. The whole idea is not whether one endorses or doesn’t endorse gambling. It’s about saving thousands of jobs.”
The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, which is not a federally recognized tribe, supports the “MGM bill.” Tribal Nation Chief Richard Velky said in a statement last week, “The Public Safety and Security Committee did the prudent thing today in heeding Attorney General Jepsen’s warning and passing House Bill 7239-if there is going to be a third casino, a fair and equitable process executed in an orderly fashion is the only way the citizens of CT can succeed without jeopardizing funding to the state.”
Other lawmakers say they are not ready to authorize a third casino of any kind without a lot more discussion.
The Mohegan and Pequot tribes, longtime gaming rivals, joined forces two years ago to urge a third casino to blunt the effects of the MGM Springfield, whose progress can be seen clearly by anyone passing by the 14-acre site that takes in three city blocks.
The state is facing a $1.5 billion budget deficit. The tribes pay the state 25 percent of casino revenues. Worry about that revenue has sparked House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz to declare, “Whatever we do, we’re going to have to account for that money. It was like we were traveling down the highway at 65 miles an hour, and with the attorney general’s opinion, it has us slowing down to 25 miles an hour. It’s like the first day of school.”
House Minority Leader Themis Klarides added, “The problem for me and most of my members is that there are so many unanswered questions and even with those that are answered, there are gaps.”
Ritter expressed the opinion last week that the best choice might be to approve neither bill. “Everyone assumes if we don’t build in East Windsor, we will open it up. Maybe not.”
The tribes, as part of the process of choosing a site for the third casino, initially looked five locations. Several weeks ago, they narrowed that down to East Windsor.
