Another study of the gaming situation in Connecticut is not necessary said the state’s two casino tribes last week in reaction to a lawmaker who called for such a study in advance of moving to authorize a third satellite casino in the state near the Bay State border.
The message that another study is unnecessary was transmitted to a committee of the legislature last week by Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council Chairman Rodney Butler, who repeated the oft-stated prediction that thousands of jobs and millions of dollars are at stake in trying to prevent Massachusetts’s casinos from siphoning off money and jobs from Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun.
The main threat is from the MGM Springfield, a $950 million casino resort about a dozen miles away from the states’ boundary. The idea is to intercept some of the Bay State residents inclined to make that trip by providing a smaller casino closer to home.
At the same time the state is being challenged in court by the Schaghticoke Tribe, which has joined forces with MGM, which has resorted to a federal lawsuit to try to stop a third casino. Both the Schaghticoke s and MGM say that only allowing the Mohegan and Pequot tribes to pursue the third casino violates the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
MGM filed its suit last summer. The tribe did the same two weeks ago, alleging that they have just as much right to pursue a casino as the other tribes. The difference is that the Schaghticokes are recognized by the state only, whereas the federal government recognizes the Mohegans and Pequots.
The Schaghticokes once got to the point where in 2004 the BIA granted federal recognition, only to withdraw it under pressure from state officials.
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is leading the legal team for MGM and former U.S. Senator and Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut is leading the tribe’s legal team, and is thus is being partially bankrolled by MGM. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen is defending the state in both lawsuits.
The established gaming tribes have taken to the internet to press their case, reminding state residents of the 1,700 businesses that benefit from the casinos and the thousands of jobs that are dependent on them.
In their online adds the tribes note that the state could lose 9,300 jobs and $100 million in revenue to the MGM Springfield.
Currently the state’s gaming tribes are continuing to post positive revenue trends. A milder winter has been credited with slots gains in February. The Mohegan Sun reported slot revenue of $48,447,865, up 14.9 percent from $42,143,478 last year. Foxwoods Resort Casino reported slot revenue of $36.2 million for the same period. The figure is up 14.7 percent compared to February 2015.
February 2015 was a tough month for both casinos due to heavy snowstorms.
In a separate but related development, Connecticut lawmakers have moved forward a bill that would mandate that the Department of Consumer Protection adopt regulations covering daily fantasy sports contests.
Commenting about such operators as DraftKings and FanDuel, Rep. David Baram, co-chairman of the General Assembly’s General Law Committee told the Las Vegas Sun, “Right now, the alternative is, it’s happening but there’s no regulation. So, it’s better that we regulate it.”
Senator Carlo Leone, the committee’s other co-chairman, noted that the committee asked a lot of questions to discover whether the games are a form of gambling. “A lot of the information we were able to retrieve fell on the side of game of skill,” said the senator.
