Connecticut Bill Calls For Considering Competing Casino Gambling ProposalsMGM Resorts Could Bid For Casino-Resort In State |
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The operators of the casinos Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun want to partner and build a third casino in the state of Connecticut. However, lawmakers are saying not so fast.
The casino, which wouldn’t be on tribal land, would be authorized under a bill that advanced last week. However, the commercial casino industry, in this case MGM Resorts International, wants the state to have a competitive bidding process for the new casino. A bill calling for such a selection process also advanced.
MGM is building a nearly $1 billion casino across the border in Massachusetts, and the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes want a jointly run facility to keep gambling dollars within Connecticut. The Nevada-based casino giant also wants to build in Connecticut.
Both bills made it past the General Assembly’s Public Safety Committee.
The tribes announced late last month that they selected a site in East Windsor for their casino, just about 15 miles south of the MGM casino in Massachusetts.
The MGM project could open as early as summer 2018. That casino is planning for 20 poker tables. The tribes haven’t said how big of a poker room there would be at the potential East Windsor casino. There are currently about 140 poker tables in Connecticut.
According to MGM, the tribal casino is a “bad deal” both for East Windsor and the state. The company, one of the largest of its kind in the world, also said that the tribal casino would violate the state’s constitution if there was no competitive bidding process.
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