Mashantucket Pequot Chairman Rodney Butler wants to use the economic powerhouse that is Connecticut’s Foxwoods Resort Casino as a springboard into the international scene.
In an interview with Native Business magazine, Butler said, “We’ve certainly been pursuing branding and management opportunities, not just in the U.S. but around the globe.”
After losing much of its hereditary homeland in wars with the early Pilgrims of the 1700th century, the tribe was recognized by the federal government and was able to recover 800 acres in the 1980s, when Congress passed the Connecticut Indian Land Claims Settlement.
Under longtime Chairman Skip Hayward (1975-1998), the tribe first pursued bingo, and then opened Foxwoods casino in 1992. Since that time the Pequots have invested more than $2.7 billion and welcomed 300 million visitors.
Butler called 2019 a year of transition and “steadying the base” after the unexpected death of Felix Rappaport, president and chief executive officer from 2014 to 2018. Butler, who greatly admired Rappaport, took over as interim CEO for a year until John James was hired to replace him.
Under the new leader, the tribe wants to transition into sports betting and online gaming and is negotiating with Governor Ned Lamont’s office on an agreement that it insists must recognize the tribe’s exclusive rights to both.
Once such an agreement is passed, the tribe will turn its attention outward. Butler said, “We’ve certainly been pursuing branding and management opportunities, not just in the U.S. but around the globe.”
It is also expanding into non-gaming enterprises such as hemp production and government contracting, with the goal of distributing the second crop by the fourth quarter of this year.
For the upcoming year, Butler predicts: “In Q4 2020, we’re taking bets on the Giants-Patriots game in the next NFL season, and we have people across the state of Connecticut logging on to Foxwoods online and playing their favorite slot machines from the convenience of their own home.”
A recent economic impact report places the tribe as the eighth largest employer in the state. It shows that in 2017 the tribe supported 12,500 jobs and generated $1.1 billion in economic activity.
