Tribe, MGM join forces to fight Connecticut casino plan

Mar 08, 2016, 06:21

Schaghticoke Chief Richard Velky says:without any competitive bidding or gaming study, CT shut out the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation and awarded to one pair of native American tribes the exclusive ability to develop a highly-valuable commercial enterprise.

According to the study, if a commercial casino was constructed in the southwestern portion of CT, as much as $545 million more could be generated in total.

While eyes seem to be on a new casino to be built in the Greater Hartford area of CT, a recent study by Oxford Economics shows that Fairfield County would actually be able to benefit better financially if the new casino was placed in their area instead.

The tribes, who commissioned an analysis of the impact of out-of-state casinos on Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, have maintained that more study of the siting of a third state casino is unnecessary.

MMCT, which had originally hoped to submit a proposal in time for the current legislative session, still is reviewing proposals for sites in East Hartford, Windsor Locks, and Hartford.

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"The bottom line question is where does CT get the best deal?" "Southwest Connecticut offers a market that brings more jobs, more revenue, and more opportunity for economic growth". The more comprehensive the study, the clearer the answer will be.

MGM, whose Springfield casino project spurred CT to pass a gaming act a year ago and consider developing a casino near the MA border to shield its gaming economy from competition, is working with the Schaghticoke Indian tribe to sue the state.

Adding a third casino in southwestern CT would increase gaming revenue statewide to $1.43 billion, leading to a total of 21,433 jobs and $341 million in state revenue.

In addition, the existing casinos, whose workforces have shrunk by more than a third over the past decade, could have to cut 5,800 more jobs, Barrow calculated.

He concluded that a casino north of Hartford that would compete directly with MGM Springfield would be the most effective. Tribal leaders aren't surprised by the outcome of the Oxford study.

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But the legislation also spawned another research effort conducted by gaming giant MGM Resorts International, which commissioned Oxford Economics, a commercially-based forecasting and analytics venture run in conjunction with Oxford University, "to analyze potential economic impacts and highlight key public policy considerations".

New private-sector data and the company that produced it say that door should be in southwest CT.

The new study estimates that a casino located along Interstate 95 between Greenwich and Bridgeport would generate $712 million in gaming revenue while costing Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun $250 million in lost revenue.

CT has not yet responded in court to the new suit. The assumption factors in planned casinos in MA and NY.

The state has argued that the gaming act is in fact a regulatory burden on the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes, not an exemption, and any company could begin seeking a casino site in the state - while noting that the legislature still needs to pass a new gaming law before building any such casino would be legal.

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