Washington — A grand jury is investigating whether former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied about how he handled Connecticut tribes’ gaming petitions.
Mohegan
Posted inMoney
Malloy to open sports betting talks with tribes
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday he will try to resolve who has rights to sports gambling — the tribal owners of the state’s two casinos, licensed off-track betting parlors or other vendors chosen by the state, or a mix of the two — before calling the General Assembly into special session to consider legalizing wagering on sports.
Posted inPolitics
Inspector General investigating Interior’s handling of CT tribes’ casino issue
The Interior Department’s official watchdog on Monday confirmed it is investigating why the agency rebuffed a request by Connecticut tribes to approve changes to its gaming compact needed to win state support for a new casino in East Windsor.
Posted inMoney
National Indian group urges Zinke to act on CT tribes’ casino issue
WASHINGTON — The National Congress of American Indians came to the support of Connecticut’s Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes Thursday, urging Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to approve a change in their gaming compacts that would clear the way for the tribes to operate a new casino in East Windsor.
Posted inEconomic Development, Politics
New CT casino falls prey to lobbying blitz and Trump policy
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Interior Department’s failure to act on provisions that would allow the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to open a new casino in East Windsor came after a vigorous lobbying campaign by competitor MGM Resorts International and a change in Indian gaming policy in the Trump administration.
Posted inPolitics
Tribes get BIA letter helpful to their bid for a third casino
A Trump administration official says the election of President Trump and arrival of new leaders at the Department of the Interior have not changed advice given a year ago in a technical assistance letter: A commercial casino operated by Connecticut’s two federally recognized tribes would not jeopardize their revenue sharing deal with the state.
Posted inPolitics
MGM uses McCain letter to fight Connecticut tribal casino
MGM Resorts is using a new letter from U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in its campaign to stop Connecticut’s two federally recognized tribes from opening a casino in East Windsor to compete with an MGM gambling resort under construction in Springfield.
Posted inPolitics
Golden Hill Paugussetts say they will try for recognition again
WASHINGTON — The Golden Hill Paugussett tribe of Trumbull is preparing to seek federal recognition again, a classification that would bring the tribe special federal help and the right to open a casino and press land claims.
Posted inPolitics
Committee approves, yet doesn’t endorse, casino expansion bills
Proposals to expand casino gambling in Connecticut cleared the Public Safety and Security Committee on Wednesday in votes signifying a consensus that the bills were too big to die in committee, not a measure of the support for opening the state to commercial casinos off tribal tribal lands.
Posted inPolitics
MGM uses Obama interior secretary to fight new tribal casino
Lobbyists for MGM Resorts International made a well-timed play Tuesday in their fight to stop a new tribal casino in Connecticut, delivering a warning from former Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar that the proposal would jeopardize the state’s revenue-sharing agreement with the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans. The tribes dismissed Salazar as a paid consultant.
Posted inPolitics
MGM stalled in effort to block new Indian casino in CT
WASHINGTON — MGM Resorts International’s efforts to block the establishment of a third casino run by Connecticut’s gaming tribes has stalled on Capitol Hill, leaving the future of the effort in doubt.
Posted inNews
Connecticut tribe says it has made federal bid, hopes for casino
WASHINGTON — The Schaghticoke Indian Tribe of Kent says it filed a voluminous petition for federal recognition with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a bid it hopes will result in the rights to open a casino in the Danbury area. But Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who has fought efforts by tribes to win acknowledgement, called the effort “frivolous.”
Posted inNews
U.S. denies CT tribes chance at federal recognition
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs has moved to make it easier for tribes across the nation to win federal recognition – while blocking several Connecticut tribes from doing so. That drew praise from Connecticut’s politicians.
Posted inPolitics
Study: I-91 casino best bet to keep gamblers in CT
A casino in the I-91 corridor north of Hartford could recapture nearly 53 percent of the Connecticut gambling dollars that otherwise would be lost to the MGM Springfield casino, according to a study released Thursday.
Posted inPolitics
Attorney General to legislators: Casino expansion poses legal risks
Attorney General George Jepsen warned top legislators Wednesday that legislation giving the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans exclusive rights to a new casino was itself a gamble, potentially endangering the current profit-sharing deal with the tribes and exposing the state to claims of illegal favoritism.