Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

House votes for final approval of tribes’ casino in East Windsor

  • Money
  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • June 7, 2017
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

MMCT

A rendering of the proposed casino in East Windsor.

The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribal nations crossed the finish line Wednesday on the last day of the General Assembly’s annual session, victors in a two-year struggle for authorization to jointly develop a casino to compete with an MGM Resorts International casino under construction in Springfield.

The House vote of 103 to 46 was surprisingly lopsided, exceeding the 2-1 margin last month in the Senate. A companion bill that helps the pari-mutuel industry by expanding the number of available off-track betting licenses from 18 to 24, passed on a closer vote of 77 to 72. It was drafted to attract some Democratic votes.

With Gov. Dannel P. Malloy set to the sign the bill, MGM says its battle to keep a competitor off its doorstep now will shift to U.S. District Court, where the Las Vegas gaming giant will argue the legislature violated the Equal Protection and Commerce clauses of the Constitution by refusing to consider other suitors for the state’s first commercial gaming license.

“That’s not a threat. That’s a promise,” said Uri Clinton, a senior vice president and legal counsel at MGM.

ctmirror.org

Chuck Bunnell, the chief of staff to the Mohegan tribal council celebrates after passage of the casino bill.

The legislation authorizes the tribal owners of Foxwoods Resort and Mohegan Sun, two of the world’s largest gaming resorts, to open a satellite casino off I-91 in East Windsor, a community of 12,000 between Hartford and Springfield that already has approved the project.

Approval by the House came shortly after 1 a.m. after a low-key debate of barely 90 minutes, an anticlimactic conclusion to one of most intense and most expensive lobbying battles in recent years.

House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, said the margin surprised him. One of the factors was personal lobbying by the employees of the two casinos.

“Nobody wanted to risk the jobs,” he said.

The bill’s prospects were uncertain in the House until late Tuesday afternoon, when CT Mirror reported that a deal had been struck.

“There are families across the state breathing a sigh of relief tonight thanks to leaders in both chambers and from both parties,” said Kevin Brown, the Mohegan tribal chairman.

Related links

How deal was struck for House vote on casino

Connecticut’s Debate Over Casino Expansion

Hartford’s 11th-hour casino game is ‘Let’s Make a Deal’In closing days, MGM’s argument against new tribal casino comes full circleMalloy takes stand, says tribes only casino option

Rodney Butler, his Pequots’ counterpart, said, “Tonight the Connecticut General Assembly passed one of the most significant jobs initiatives of the legislative session. With more than 9,000 jobs at risk, legislators banded together to save an important sector of Connecticut’s economy.”

Support for the tribes was bipartisan: Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, presented the bill to the chamber. Brief closing remarks were delivered by Rep. Mike France of Ledyard, a Republican whose district covers both tribal casinos.

House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, found herself on the same side as Malloy, who called the bill important to the economy.

“I commend and thank both chambers of the General Assembly for keeping Connecticut jobs and workers at the center of this debate,” Malloy said. “Our state has a longstanding partnership and compact with the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribal nations, who employ thousands of Connecticut residents in their casinos.  I have been very clear that I will not sign a bill that puts these jobs at risk, and I look forward to reviewing this proposal.”

Unlike the early years of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, when the two casinos grew and prospered in eastern Connecticut with little gambling competition in the Northeast, the tribes are fighting a holding action intended to mitigate the loss of business in a market approaching saturation.

The legislature’s non-partisan analysts declined to predict what impact the new casino might have on state revenues. The tribes are expected to pay the state $266 million in the current fiscal year under the terms of a deal struck in the 1990s: In return for exclusive rights to casino games, the tribes annually pay the state 25 percent of its gross slots revenues.

Malloy, who was neutral on casino expansion, came down on the tribes’ side last month when he told CT Mirror he would veto the MGM open-competition bill as a threat to the revenue sharing.

ctmirror.org

Uri Clinton of MGM watches the vote.

The revenue sharing has been worth $7 billion to the state since 1993, but it has been shrinking since hitting a high of $430 million in 2007.  Analysts project the slots revenue will be worth $266 million again next year, then fall to $199 million after MGM Springfield opens.

MMCT, the tribes’ joint venture, says the new 200,000 square-foot casino would feature 2,000 slot machines and between 50 and 150 table games, but would have no hotel or other features of a major resort. Without the project, the tribes said they expected to lose 9,000 jobs.

MGM tried to convince legislators to think bigger and open a competition for a major casino resort in Fairfield County that could draw from an under-served gaming market in New York City, suggesting a license fee for such a resort could be worth $100 million.

Democrats included $145 million in one-time gaming fees in a budget proposed last month. The Malloy administration’s budget proposal included no increase in gaming revenue.

The tribes would pay no licensing fee under the bill approved Wednesday, only an annual tax equal to 25 percent of gross revenues from table games and slots. The first $4.5 million in slots revenue would be set aside for annual grants of $750,000 to each of six communities: Hartford, East Hartford, Ellington, Enfield, South Windsor and Windsor Locks.

Keith M. Phaneuf contributed to this story.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Lamont, top lawmakers make progress streamlining emergency orders issued during pandemic
by Keith M. Phaneuf

It remains unclear whether the two parties will agree on the extent of the governor’s emergency powers during future crises.

Clark Chapin is the GOP choice for state auditor
by Mark Pazniokas

Clark Chapin has been nominated to succeed the late Rob Kane as the Republican auditor of public accounts.

Keep youths out of the justice system, or hold them accountable? Judiciary committee advances bills that do both
by Kelan Lyons

Republicans were concerned about a provision in one bill that would erase certain juvenile records.

CT continues to get high marks for improved fiscal management
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Connecticut received high marks from a nationally recognized think-tank for its huge reserves, its fiscal planning and its budget transparency.

Connecticut businesses could owe up to $1 billion in unemployment taxes. They want the state to cover it with federal relief funds.
by Keith M. Phaneuf

Business leaders said the state’s economy simply can’t recover if companies remain on the hook to cover the debt.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Enriching the already rich — it’s been the American way.
by David Holahan

There are supposed to be two certainties in life: death and taxes. Here's a 2021 corollary: As the rich get richer and richer, they pay less and less into the U.S. Treasury. It’s no joke, my fellow 1040 filers. A recent study by economists and the IRS found that the richest Americans —yes, those infamous one-percenters— have been cheating on their taxes to the collective tune of at least $175 billion a year.

Opinion There is no equity without standardized race, ethnicity and language data
by The Rev. Robyn Anderson

Over a year into a pandemic that has cost the lives of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other people of color at rates that are unjust and preventable, we cannot allow ourselves or our state to continue to use the word “equity” without the data to show policies really are addressing injustice. We all know the disparities aren’t about race; they’re about racism.

Opinion Baseball is still a civil rights battleground
by Steve Thornton

For over 150 years, the baseball field has been a battleground for civil rights. Bigoted politicians like Texas governor Greg Abbott are still fighting the Civil War — on the wrong side of history.

Opinion Getting connected for Connecticut students
by Sabrina Tucker-Barrett

There is one key to ensuring the success of Connecticut students: we must keep them connected. Whether your children are in fifth grade or freshman year, they have or will continue to learn virtually in some capacity, which means unstable Wi-Fi during class, delays in homework submission or inability to research are unacceptable.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO