Connecticut’s two gaming tribes have delayed the date when they will decide where to locate a third casino, a satellite casino intended to keep revenue from draining to casinos in Massachusetts.
The original deadline of December 15 will be pushed back said MMCT, the joint venture of the Pequots and Mohegan tribes.
MMCT spokesman Andrew Doba stated last week, “After meeting with town leaders and given the overwhelming interest in this project, the MMCT Board has decided that more time is required in order to make a decision. We continue to do our due diligence, evaluating proposals and the economic impact of each site.”
Doba added that the tribes want to be located in a community that wants them and that the tribes were mindful that each community has its own procedures for making such a decision.
Doba said that there isn’t a hard and fast deadline for making a selection. The delay was made after officials of the tribe met with community officials.
Four communities have submitted five proposals. They include East Hartford, East Windsor, Hartford and Windsor Locks.
In the latter community residents are divided. During a public hearing last week attended by about 300 residents resident David Roche declared, “The economy starts with construction work, we build buildings, and then the rest will come.”
Fellow resident Will Daudelin differed. “I don’t want people to get addicted to gambling, I just don’t think it’s a good thing,” he said, according to WFSB 3 Connecticut.
Charles Agli was neutral. “I really have no opinion, I’d like to hear what the proposals are and gather some information,” he said.
The town has two competing proposals, one for the Bradley International Airport and the other at Bobby V’s Restaurant.
Another town member, Christine Soucy, said “I want to see a fair representation of how the residents really feel about it rather than what some organizations are interested in.”
The Hartford Courant estimated that those who spoke were divided about half and half. Some suggested that the gaming tribes be asked to make an investment in the town, such as upgrading the town’s road network and upgrading the town’s schools.
Carl Schiessi said, “You won’t get it unless you ask for it.”
About 100 of those who attended wore T-shirts that indicated support for building trades groups, such as construction and plumbing.
The town recently swore in a new board of selectmen, who quickly moved to investigate the casino proposal and set hearings and possibly schedule a referendum.
First Selectman J. Christopher Kervick followed up the meeting by stating, “Assuming that the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans come back to us and say ‘We’d like to continue to negotiate with Windsor Locks,’ then I’m going to take these items I’ve jotted down here, as well as several others I have and say, ‘These are on the table, what can you do? Can you get us these things? If they stonewall us and say, ‘No, we’re not doing any of that stuff,’ then the negotiations end and this is over, we move onto the next thing.”
The site that the tribes select will still need to be approved by the legislature.
Mohegan Tribal Council Chairman Kevin Brown is candid that the whole process is intended to compete with the MGM Springfield, the $950 million casino resort that is being planned in neighboring Massachusetts.
Brown was quoted by the Republican: “This process began to preserve thousands of jobs and millions in revenue which will leave (Connecticut), the loss of which MGM has repeatedly acknowledged is necessary to make their project in Springfield a success.” He added, “As members of communities with deep ties to this state, we’re simply not going to let that happen without a fight. With this phase complete, we can now begin to engage interested parties and save Connecticut jobs.”
MGM Resorts International has sued in federal court to try to stop this from going forward. Earlier this month the assistant attorney general of Connecticut filed a motion to throw the case out of court. MGM, whose legal team is headed by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, argues that the Connecticut law that authorizes the tribes to identify a casino site violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause because it does not permit MGM to apply to build a casino.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno is more sanguine. He said last week, “Our process here, we had to go through two ballot questions and we also had to go through state initiative and we had a very, very democratic process. I am not going to speak about what Connecticut is going to do or not going to do, the only thing I can control or oversee and be part of is what’s being done in Springfield.”
Meanwhile, the revenues from Connecticut’s slot machines from November were slightly lower than for the same month in 2014.
The Mohegan Sun, operated by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, took in $579,396,241.46, 1 percent less than last year. Foxwoods Resort Casino, run by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, reported slot revenue of $38 million, down 0.2 percent from November 2014.
The tribes fear much larger declines in revenues than those once the MGM Springfield begins operating.
In a separate but related development, Hard Rock International, which once competed to build the Springfield casino, has announced plans to build the 170-room Hard Rock Hotel Hartford. Hard Rock operates several casinos in the U.S., however its Hartford proposal would not be gaming-related. It will have a Hard Rock Café, workout facility, spa and retail shop.
