Third Casino In Connecticut
A bill has been signed by the governor of Connecticut, Dannel Malloy, which has made way for the third casino in the state of Connecticut, intended to compete with the MGM Springfield.
Third Casino In Connecticut New York
Through the first 4+ months of this year, the prospect of a 3rd casino in the state of Connecticut has been a story we have been following closely. The most recent development in this situation came early this week when the Native tribes from the state received word that their casino plans were approved by an important government committee. Connecticut Gives Green Light for Third Casino. Published by Dave June 8, 2017 Categorie(s): Casino News. Connecticut looks like it is all set to get its third land-based casino after the state’s House of Representatives approved the bill. The vote on the bill took place in the early hours of the morning, on Wednesday the 07 June 2017. 2020 is an election year, and that could influence support for a third casino, as well as sports betting. All 36 seats of the Connecticut State Senate will be up for vote, as will the 151 seats in. Connecticut’s third casino has been authorized by General Assembly, and after signing the bill into law Thursday, progress could start immediately.
The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes that run Foxwood, and Mohegan Sun Casinos, respectively, can open a casino jointly on a non-tribal reservation land, under the bill signed by Malloy on late Thursday morning. Both the tribes plan to open a jointly own casino near the Interstate 91 in East Windsor.
The new casino in East Windsor would be a 20-minute drive from the currently under construction MGM resorts in Springfield.
Coming up of the third casino in Connecticut has been justified by claiming it to be a necessity to protect and create jobs and tax revenue for Connecticut, which is on the verge of facing the brunt because of the casino goers preferring the Hartford area across the state line into Massachusetts.
MGM, challenging the law; legally, has argued and claimed that the law didn’t allow other interested parties to compete for a license.
Third Connecticut casino to open in East Windsor
Third Casino In Connecticut Map
Nadrina Ebrahimi
Two Native American nations that have joined forces to build Connecticut’s third casino announced on Feb. 27 that they have selected East Windsor as the site of their new project.
The Mashantucket Pequot and the Mohegan tribes hope that the new casino, which will be a 15-minute drive from the MGM Springfield casino in Massachusetts, will protect Connecticut’s gaming revenue and keep casino jobs in the state. The Springfield MGM is slated to open in spring 2018.
“Do I think that it means that more gaming would remain in Connecticut as opposed to being transported to Massachusetts?” Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a press release on Wednesday. “The answer is yes and therefore there are more jobs connected to that.”
But before construction on the casino moves forward, the state Legislature must approve a proposal for the project. The bill, which was presented to the Public Safety and Security Committee by state Sen. Catherine Osten, D-Norwich, was discussed in an informational forum on Feb. 23 and is on the agenda for a public hearing in the state Legislature on March 9.
If the bill passes in the Public Safety and Security Committee, it will then be heard by the entire legislature. If approved there, ground on the new site can be broken as early as this coming summer.
The tribes negotiated with towns independently to decide where to build, and the Connecticut Legislature did not participate in the decision. As a result, some state lawmakers are upset by the location.
State Rep. Christopher Rosario, D-Bridgeport, called the selection process “secretive” and said Fairfield County would have been a better location because of its proximity to New York City. He also emphasized the need for jobs in Bridgeport.
“Bridgeport has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state, especially in terms of people of color,” Rosario said. “To completely leave Bridgeport out of the question when discussing jobs and creating jobs is a total mistake.”
The casino is projected to generate $8.5 million in taxes for East Windsor every year, which would constitute 18 percent of the town’s entire tax revenue. In negotiating with the casino planners, the town’s Board of Selectmen agreed to the proposal with unanimous and bipartisan support.
Under the terms of the agreement, the casino will also pay a portion of its revenue as taxes to the state, but that portion has yet to be determined by the state Legislature. Connecticut’s two existing casinos pay 25 percent of revenues in taxes.
MGM has been in strong opposition to a new Connecticut casino for months. In a statement at the Feb. 23 informational forum, Uri Clinton, MGM Resorts International’s senior vice president and legal counsel, claimed that operating a competing casino on nontribal land would violate existing compacts between Connecticut and the two tribes.
Malloy is aware of the legal concerns surrounding the proposal and has asked the state attorney general for his opinion on the matter. According to an opinion from the Office of Indian Gaming, an authority in tribal-state gaming compacts, building a casino in East Windsor would not violate any existing agreements.
In his press release, Malloy suggested that the opposition stems from MGM’s desire to curb competition.
“Gosh, people in Massachusetts don’t want a third casino in Connecticut — it really is remarkable — and I think I know why,” Malloy said. “It’s the same reason they wanted casinos in Massachusetts, right? They would like to take a substantial portion of the marketplace in Connecticut.”
A spokesman for the Connecticut casino’s developers, Andrew Doba, said that by MGM’s own estimates, Connecticut would lose about 9,600 jobs with the opening of the Springfield location just 5 miles from the Connecticut border. The opening of a casino in East Windsor could save roughly half of those jobs, Doba said.
Further, the East Windsor developers said at the informational forum that Connecticut will lose $68.3 million in tax dollars and $337 million in total revenue once the MGM Springfield opens — a loss that would be offset by the East Windsor casino.
“The biggest beneficiary by far is the employees and the state,” Doba said.
Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket is operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, and Mohegan Sun in Uncasville is run by the Mohegan Tribe.