The proposal for a gambling expansion through a third casino construction in Connecticut has become a subject of fierce discussions at a recent hearing, with the two parties in the debate trying to make their positions more popular. What is more, each party used the services of their own consultants and experts in the field of gambling in order to get the Connecticut Committee trust and make it take their opinions into account.
A lot of pressure has been put on the Committee in order for the latter to reach a decision in a few days. March 16th is the deadline for it to propose a piece of legislation to the full House and Senate and offer it for consideration.
As mentioned above, a proposal for construction of a third casino located in East Windsor has been made by the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans. The tribes have been aiming at using the casino in question as a satellite of Foxwoods and Mogehegan Sun, which are their other two gaming venues across the state. Gambling expansion in the state of Connecticut has been having its supporters for some time now, saying that local tribes had their history bound to the state’s gaming industry and pointing the Connecticut Committee’s attention to the fact that tribal casinos in the state have accounted for slot revenues amounting to more than $7 billion.
On the other hand, there were opponents of the idea of gambling expansion, too. They also presented their opinions in front of the Committee, providing arguments primarily related to social costs that would be imposed on the State of Connecticut in case that a third casino is established.
There was also a third group of participants, led by MGM, which took part in the Committee hearing. They were the ones who generally support an eventual gambling expansion across the state, but at the same time are against building a third tribal casino in the state. The group urged other gambling operators who are licensed to run their operations in Connecticut to make proposals for building of a new casino, saying that the Committee should then consider the proposal compared to the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans’ offer.
The bad blood between MGM and the local tribes who operate gambling venues has been dating from a few years now, after the company challenged the tribes’ plans to search for a third casino location in court in 2015. MGM then said that potential operators were unfairly cut off from the process. At the time when its group took part in the hearing, MGM also shared that the Committee’s members should take into consideration different ways in which the state could increase its gaming tax revenue and create new jobs for local residents.
- Author
Daniel Williams
