After several months of inactivity, the gaming tribes of Connecticut, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, through their joint authority MMCT Venture, are reopening the “request for proposals” for a third tribal casino in the state. They have extended the deadline for proposals to October 15.
It has been reported that MMCT did this to allow more towns near the Massachusetts border that have recently shown an interest in hosting the casino the opportunity to apply. Currently East Hartford, Hartford and Windsor Locks are known to have submitted applications.
The tribes are looking at a casino with about 2,000 slots and as many as 150 gaming tables.
The tribes originally released an RFP around this time in 2015, with a November deadline.
MMCT Venture promised a “fair and transparent” process, perhaps trying to inoculate themselves in advance against the inevitable slings and arrows sure to come their way from the direction of Springfield, Massachusetts, where MGM Resorts International is building the casino they are trying to defend against.
The purpose of the third casino would be to shield the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods as much as possible from losing to business, jobs and money to the $950 million MGM Springfield when it opens in September 2018.
Kevin Brown, chairman of the Mohegan tribe, commented last week, “We know that folks are anxious for this process to move forward, and so are we. But as much as we want to get shovels in the ground, we also want to make absolutely certain that we invest hundreds of millions of our own money in the right site.”
Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot tribal council, added, “We believe it’s important for each and every community to know exactly what’s happening and where they stand, and so in the interest of fairness to those that applied, we’ve decided to continue the process so we can consider these latest proposals and any new submissions. We’ll be making a decision in the near future, and look forward to the extensive public discussion that will come along with naming a finalist site.”
In an interview with the Republican, Butler clarified the point that the extended deadline was to allow for new interest among possible host communities. “There are amended sites. There are couple of new sites as well,” Butler said. “We just want to be clear and transparent on this and make sure we check all the boxes.”
Brown added, “We are aware that there are those out there that have expressed interest. But until someone still submits an application through the RFP process, we don’t know and cannot confirm.”
They plan to review all of the submission and then pick a set of finalists for further vetting. The tribes will take public comments during meetings that will be held in the communities being considered, a process described as an “extensive public engagement campaign.”
The tribes are not the only “deciders” in this process. The state legislature will need to authorize a commercial casino in the state before it can become a reality.
To drive home their point that the tribal process is inherently prejudicial, Alan M. Feldman, MGM executive vice president, attacked the announced in a letter to editor of the Hartford Guardian: “This isn’t a process—it’s a sham.” He added, “It is being run by Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribe, not the state, and MMCT is running it for its own purposes. Deadlines are set, then they’re missed. Towns are added, then subtracted. Unrealistic job numbers are created out of thin air, then thrown around with impunity. We’re told this is a ‘satellite casino,’ then when information is pried loose we see renderings of a casino larger than anything in Las Vegas. A ‘process’ like this is exactly how you end up with a baseball stadium that is unfinished, empty, and tens of millions of dollars over budget.”
The tribes, and many Connecticut lawmakers, have expressed the fear, echoed in a report that the tribes commissioned, that the MGM Springfield could rob the state of 9,300 jobs. Last year Brown commented, “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. As members of communities with deep ties to this state, we’re simply not going to let that happen without a fight.”
And MGM has made plain that it won’t let the tribes build that casino without a fight. A few weeks after the legislature approved of the bill last summer that authorized the tribes to conduct a search for a site, MGM sued in federal court, charging that the process violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution because, they said, they weren’t allowed to participate.
A federal court threw out the suit in June of 2016, ruling that MGM did not have standing to sue and that nothing prevented entities besides the tribe from participating. MGM has appealed.
At one time the Connecticut Airport Authority floated a proposal for a casino that would have been sited in the ground transportation center at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.
Those plans are defunct as Kevin Dillon, the authority’s executive director, as reported by the authority’s spokesman Alisa Sisic: “He reiterated to the board that the previously submitted site proposals, which included the new ground transportation center and Terminal B, have been withdrawn from consideration. However, the CAA is still interested in pursuing a casino at Bradley Airport, which has 300 acres available outside the terminal.”
Recently Silver Lane Partners, which has proposed a casino at a former cinema in East Hartford, announced that it had reached an agreement with Radisson Hartford Hotel, four miles away, to serve the casino.
Silver Lane’s Tony Ravosa, said last week that he was disappointed that the tribes have extended the deadline. He issued a statement: “The stakes are enormous in terms of potential lost revenue to the state of Connecticut if the tribes — in partnership with the state — fail to respond to the competitive threat posed by the expected opening of MGM Springfield in September 2018.”
Ravosa added, “The clock is ticking, and MGM’s construction site is bustling with activity,” he said in the statement. “If the tribes and state neglect to select and approve a site for the third Connecticut casino in relatively short order, the potential impact on the state budget beginning in 2019 will be both sizable and debilitating.” He hinted that lawmakers should step in to push the process forward.
He also said that he planned to announce additional changes to the proposal, describing them as “a potential game-changer,” although he wouldn’t go into details.
However, Enfield Mayor Scott Kaupin had exactly the opposite complaint. He told the Hartford Courant, “Seems like they’re rushing the process again,” adding, “Only one month for communities to discuss and present. Same timing problem as the first go around.” The owners of a local mall have shown some interest in pursuing a casino there, although the public appears to be opposed.
Windsor Locks First Selectman Chris Kervick said he was surprised that the bidding period had been extended, although he said he was assured that his city’s bid is still viable.
“I was kind of surprised that they reopened the process and would consider other towns at this point,” he said.
East Windsor, which proposed using land formerly occupied by a cinema and Wal-Mart last year, only to see it shot down, said it might submit another, said First Selectman Robert Maynard.
Meanwhile Hartford Mayor Bronin, who has pursued the notion of a regional entertainment center for the city, said he was willing to continue talking about including a gaming element in his plans. “Regardless of where the casino goes, what’s clear is that Hartford should be positioning itself as the entertainment center for the region,” he told the Courant.
The city sees a casino as a possible way to improve its financial bottom line because of its declining revenues—which makes bankruptcy a possible outcome.
