Kevin Brown, and Rodney Butler, chairmen of the Mohegan and Pequot tribes of Connecticut, last week published an opinion piece explaining why their tribes have extended the deadline for applications to build the third, satellite casino that they want to site to blunt the effects of the 0 million MGM Springfield when it opens in two years.
It has been estimated that the casino could rob the state of 9,300 jobs and reroute about $702 million out of the state to Massachusetts.
To combat the MGM Springfield, the tribes propose building a $200-$300 million casino near the state line with Massachusetts.
The chairmen wrote, “It’s our concern for making a good choice of location for the casino that’s guided us as we’ve spent the last few months carefully deliberating and going through the due diligence that an investment of $200 to $300 million demands.”
While conceding that, “everyone is eager to get shovels in the ground,” they felt that because of the moving target aspect of the project that they wanted to give those interested in hosting another chance. “This will allow existing applicants or other interested municipalities the opportunity to change their applications or submit a new proposal. We’ve set a deadline of noon on October 15 for these new or amended proposals,” they wrote.
They noted that since they announced the extension that two proposals had been largely reworked. “Now, an East Hartford casino could lead to a partnership with the Radisson Hotel, and a Windsor Locks casino could be located at one of three new sites,” they wrote.
The two tribes are working in tandem with MMCT, a joint venture formed in 2015. Once MMCT announces finalists for the host city, it plans to engage “in extensive dialogue with the residents of those communities,” to find out their desires.
Last week the mayor of East Hartford Marcia Leclerc asked clarification on several matters relating to the bidding process. He sent the questions via the Mohegan’s real estate agent, Pearce Real Estate.
Leclerc’s letter asked for guidelines on the format for submitting supplemental materials and if host communities would be asked additional questions about their proposals. In making the questions public the mayor declared, “We want the public to know we are still actively pursuing this development project and we want to be 100 percent sure what we submit meets the stated requirements.”
She added, “We feel it is important that the public know what questions we are asking and we want them to be able to access the answers. We have been fully transparent from the beginning and want the public to know.”
She also asked for clarification on how many gaming tables the tribes want, which has reportedly varied from 50 to 150 tables.
