After a virtual meeting held with state and city officials representing East Windsor, two federally recognized Native American tribes decided to suspend their plans for the development of Connecticut’s third casino, a project that has been constantly postponed since it was authorized in 2017.
On December 10th, the chairmen of the Mohegan and the Mashantucket Pequot tribes that the long-stalled plans for a casino venue in East Windsor are being temporarily postponed. The decision comes at a time when the gambling sector has suffered significant losses because of the closures experienced due to the coronavirus pandemic.
During the pandemic, the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos have been operating at only one-quarter of their overall capacity because the tribes have been forced to impose social distancing measures at the facilities. Furthermore, the attendance of the gambling venues, which are currently among the largest ones on a global scale, has been reduced as fewer gamblers went to the casino with the lockdown and social distancing measures in place.
The two Native American tribes are keeping their right to construct the planned Tribal Winds casino in East Windsor but they have chosen to make a public statement prior to the 2021 legislative session and confirm that they do not have plans to start the construction immediately. As the joint statement of the two tribes’ chairmen reads, the Tribal Winds project has been through many ups and downs since its approval but the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes remain sure of the viability of the Tribal Winds project.
MGM Springfield Owners Have Been Trying to Delay the East Windsor Casino Project
The Governor of Connecticut, Ned Lamont, has been calling for the two tribes to leave their plans for a casino situated in East Windsor behind in order to avoid litigation from MGM Resorts International. The latter operates a casino venue in Springfield.
Back in 2015, the two tribes joined forces in pursuit of a satellite casino in the state of Connecticut that would have offset the competition of MGM Springfield, which started operation in 2018. So far, the owners of the Springfield-based gambling venue, MGM Resorts International, managed to delay the Tribal Winds casino project through a series of lawsuits and other maneuvers, including an ongoing lawsuit that claims that the US Department of the Interior had made a mistake when it gave the green light to the amendments to the tribes’ compacts (gambling agreements) with the state.
Now, with the East Windsor casino project postponed for an indefinite period, some Connecticut lawmakers still believe that the state could reach an agreement with the tribes that they have been seeking for years.
Reportedly, Governor Lamont welcomed the news of the delay but explained that no direct advantage connected sports betting and East Windsor. He further noted that offering sports betting services would be negotiated with the tribes but refused to provide more information on the matter.
