\u201cWe appreciate the committee\u2019s efforts to address the East Windsor repeal, but we can\u2019t support the bill,\u201d said Mashantucket chairman Rodney Butler. According to Butler, the position of the tribes had shifted from being \u201c100 percent against\u201d the bill to only \u201c99 percent against it\u201d now that their project in East Windsor had been protected.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nWould Tribal Compact Survive a New Casino?<\/strong><\/h2>\nIf the bill passes, it could set in motion a legal batter between the tribes and the state. While Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen has told legislators that the proposal wouldn\u2019t impact the current compact, the tribes strongly disagree.<\/p>\n
According to Betsy Conway, who serves as general counsel for the Mashantucket Pequots, payments from the tribes to the state would end the moment the state authorized a commercial casino, even before that venue opened. Currently, the tribes pay the state 25 percent of their slots revenue each month. In 2017, that added up to more than $270 million in payments to the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you really want to forgo $270 million a year for three to five years?\u201d asked Mohegan chairman Kevin Brown. \u201cThat would be quite a gap in Connecticut\u2019s revenue stream.\u201d<\/p>\n
MGM praised the legislation\u2019s progress, saying that their plan would be beneficial to the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to believe strongly that the proposal we have developed for a world-clas resort casino in Bridgeport, and the thousands of jobs and millions in revenue it would bring to the city, the region and the state is in Connecticut\u2019s best interest,\u201d said Uri Clinton, senior vice president and legal counsel for MGM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
While the Connecticut General Assembly may well issue a request for proposals to build a casino in Bridgeport, the two Native American tribes who run casinos in the state say they have no interest in being part of such a process. Leaders of both the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes told legislators that while they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":73643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,60,13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Connecticut Tribes Want No Part in Bridgeport Casino Bidding<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n