The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, owners of Foxwoods Casino and the Mohegan Sun, in Connecticut, have asked for the ability to sell alcohol as late as 4 a.m., which would make it more competitive with the rival MGM casino that will open in Springfield, Massachusetts on August 24. Leading lawmakers have indicated that they are sympathetic to the request.
The MGM Springfield recently obtained permission from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to extend “last call” from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., but only for players on the casino floor. Restaurants and bars at the casino must still stop serving at 2 a.m.
The Pequots would need permission from Connecticut lawmakers to sell alcohol later. Current law sets the time for last call at 1 a.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturday nights.
If the Mohegans and Pequots obtain permission from the legislature, they would offer these extended hours at their $300 million casino that they are expecting to begin construction soon in East Windsor, and which has a projected opening of 2020.
A spokesman for the Mohegan Sun, Chuck Bunnell, said “We believe with New York, New Jersey and now Massachusetts having that option, Connecticut casinos are at a disadvantage, and we will raise the issue with Connecticut leadership at the appropriate time. This is about remaining competitive and well-positioned in a continually changing gaming market, which is also essential for preserving slot revenue to the state and thousands of jobs in the region.”
The Pequots have requested this change several times over the past few years and has renewed its call in light of the MGM Springfield action.
The tribe issued this statement: “Now that MGM has extended their hours in Massachusetts, it only makes sense for us at a minimum to do the same, if not implement even longer service hours, and do so responsibly.”
House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz told the Hartford Courant that he wants the tribes to stay competitive and “having an alcohol policy that is consistent with the gaming entities they compete with for customers is part of that equation.”
Rep. Joe Verrengia, who co-chairs the legislature’s Public Safety and Security Committee, whose responsibility includes gaming, added that the state needs to be aware of issues that affect competitiveness. “On the surface of it, I am supportive of extending hours of liquor sales at the casinos, but I think there needs to be strict oversight and restrictions,” he said.
He said that mean the increased hours should only apply to those playing, which is also the case in Massachusetts. Any change should also be balanced against the need to discourage drunk driving, he said.
In the past, concerns of groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving kept similar proposals from getting enough support. In 2009 Governor M. Jodi Rell first proposed and then dropped allowing 24-hour alcohol service after she was shown court documents where the driver in a fatal crash told police he had been drinking at the Mohegan Sun.
In a report by Eyewitness News 3, visitors to both tribal casinos were asked if alcohol played a part in the entertainment value.
One visitor remarked that free drinks were part of the fun. “Drinking is a party thing to do, I want to enjoy the moment,” she said, adding, “When I used to get here at 2 and they stopped serving drinks, I used to get kind of upset, like well, that’s not fair.”
Residents of a nearby town, Montville, were interviewed by News 3. One of them, Hanson, said, “I was commuting at that time and I was seeing drunk people at 5 or 6 in the morning. If they extend the time, I don’t see why it wouldn’t cause more problems.”
Sullivan added, “I’ve had experience on route 2 just commuting early in the morning and saying, this guy is probably coming from Foxwoods going to Mohegan Sun with a New York license plate.”
East Windsor Casino
Meanwhile, the East Windsor casino proposed by MMCT Venture, the joint tribal development authority, two weeks ago won a vital zoning approval from the city’s planning commission.
What is missing, however, is the final approval for the amended tribal state gaming compact by the Department of the Interior. This approval is required by last year’s bill that authorized the $300 million satellite casino that is intended to blunt some of the financial effects of the MGM Springfield. The earliest the East Windsor casino could open is about 18 months from now, even if construction begins soon. The MGM Springfield is slated to open August 24.
So far Interior has only published one of the amended compacts in the Federal Register, but not the other. This lack of action is already the subject of a federal lawsuit by the tribes and the state government.
