Attorney General George Jepsen made an update for both the fate of the East Windsor casino and the MGM future in the region. The commentary was made in a testimony provided to the Connecticut General Assembly’s Public Safety and Security Committee, which has been considering legislation on both the local casino gambling industry and sports betting.
Under a new measure that is to be brought into action, the law which gave the green light to the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes to establish their joint-venture East Windsor casino project in the state would be annulled. In addition, a new Request for Proposal (RFP) process for a new casino would also be set, with such a measure having been a focal point of MGM efforts for some time now.
According to Attorney General Jepsen, the new piece of legislation would not be into conflict with the already existing agreements with the two Indian tribes. In his message to local lawmakers, Mr. Jepsen also provided some details about the difference between opening a new Request for Proposal process and opening a new casino located outside tribal land. He explained that the agreements between the state of Connecticut and the two Indian tribes are to be active as long as no change in State legislation is brought into action.
Despite the explanations given by the Attorney General, there is still uncertainty for the fate of the East Windsor casino project. On the other hand, the new legislation could give some hope to MGM for its Bridgeport development project.
New Bill Aims to Suspend East Windsor Casino Project
The Chairman of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Rep. Joseph Verrengia, commented that the fact that the East Windsor casino has still not been approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is also an issue. He added that he was not sure what would happen in case that the East Windsor casino project was cancelled and a competitive process was opened.
Over the past few months, the state of Connecticut has been facing some disagreements with the construction of the first racino on non-tribal land. The Mohegan and the Mashantucket Pequot tribes were given the permission to construct a satellite gambling facility as a joint venture in East Windsor thanks to the Public Act 17-89 signed by Governor Dannel Malloy.
However, the casino project of the two tribal nations has been put into jeopardy since industry experts explained that the tribes have been facing difficulties to guarantee that state revenue and jobs would remain intact amid the constantly increasing competition between the East Windsor casino project and the MGM Resorts’ Springfield casino. The latter, which is still under construction, is estimated to $960 million.
As previously reported by CasinoGamesPro, a new Connecticut bill has made the construction of the afore-mentioned casino unstable, since the piece of legislation is seeking to block the two tribal nations from building their first casino on non-tribal land. Instead of the East Windsor casino, an open bidding process is being sought by the new bill.
