The state of Connecticut and its gaming tribes have petitioned a federal court to be allowed to intervene in the case where MGM Resorts International has sued the Department of the Interior over its approval of an amendment to the tribes’ tribal state gaming compact.
The state, and the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes petitioned the District of Columbia federal district court seeking the dismissal of MGM’s case against the department.
The gaming company sued the department in August after it approved gaming compacts that allow the tribes to operate a satellite casino in East Windsor through their joint gaming enterprise MMCT Venture. The $300 million casino would be about 14 miles from the $1 billion MGM Springfield in Massachusetts. The tribes want to build the casino to partially blunt the MGM casino’s effect on their properties, Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun.
The $400 million Tribal Winds Casino would have 2,000 slot machines and 120 table games. The tribes have yet to begin construction. MGM has successfully fought the casino from the beginning. The tribes blame MGM for the federal government’s long delay in approving of the amendment to the state tribal gaming compact that they needed to begin work. Once work does begin, the tribes estimate it will take up to two years to complete
MGM’s lawsuit argues that the department failed to follow precedent by allowing the changes to the compacts that enabled the tribes go forward. It also argues that if Connecticut and the tribes wish to be part of the lawsuit they should join as defendants.
The state and tribes wish to intervene separately from the department because, they state, DOI doesn’t necessarily represent their interests. They point out that initially it sat on their amended compacts for more than a year.
The Mohegan tribe is represented by Samuel Daughety. Keith Harper represents the Pequots and Assistant Attorney General Mark Kohler represents the state. They told the court that precedent exists for seeking a dismissal when the intervenor’s interest is obvious.
MGM argues that the three parties are trying to intervene without submitting an answer to MGM’s complaint.
The Interior department also seeks to dismiss MGM’s case, arguing that the department’s reconsideration of the compacts after not acting on it for many months did not violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA.)
The tribes estimate the East Windsor casino would generate about $70 million annually in state taxes and pour about $8.5 million into East Windsor itself.
Just as the tribes regarded the MGM Springfield as an existential threat to their bottom line (a threat that has turned out to be not nearly so harmful) so MGM views the East Windsor casino as a threat. Especially since the Springfield casino has so far not met MGM’s forecasts for profitability. It failed to meet first year revenue goals by almost $145 million.
