Tribes Pick Location For Third Connecticut CasinoLocation 15 Miles South Of MGM Casino Selected |
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Two tribal gaming groups in Connecticut have selected a site for a third casino that would try to keep gambling dollars from flowing into Massachusetts.
A joint venture between the Mohegan Tribal Nation and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe seeks to build a $300 million Las Vegas-style property in East Windsor, just about 15 miles south of the nearly $1 billion MGM casino coming to Springfield, Massachusetts.
The MGM project could open in the summer of 2018, which would be slightly ahead of schedule. That casino is planning for 20 poker tables. It’s not clear how many poker tables there would be at the potential East Windsor casino, but with as many as 150 table games, the tribes would likely also build a sizable poker room.
East Windsor officials voted on Saturday to allow the two tribes to build at a former Showcase Cinemas location off of I-91, the same interstate that the Springfield casino will sit next to. If the casino is built, it would be the first of its kind in Connecticut not on tribal land.
The tribes control the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos, respectively. There are about 140 poker tables between them, but that is down from the 200 that were in operation just a short time ago. Both casinos have come under threat thanks to increased gambling competition in the region.
“From the beginning, we’ve said that we want to site our new facility in a town that’s eager to have us,” Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Chairman Rodney Butler said in a statement. “East Windsor fits that bill, and we’re thrilled to enter into a partnership with them.”
The city is expecting more than $8 million a year in its coffers thanks to the casino, according to a report from Masslive.com.
MGM Resorts has criticized Connecticut over the process to approve and build a third casino, saying that it didn’t have an opportunity to compete for a facility. The casino giant also claims that East Windsor voters would reject the casino deal if there was a citywide referendum.
“Local residents deserve to vote this plan up or down in a referendum,” MGM spokesman Bernard Kavaler said. He called it a “bad deal” that would be “soundly rejected.”
MGM’s court challenges to the new Connecticut casino have so far been unsuccessful. Before the tribes can break ground, the state legislature has to give it the green light.
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