The two tribes that are bidding to build more casinos in Connecticut have welcomed a bill passed in the early hours of Friday morning by the state House of Representatives.
The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes joined forces to lobby hard to be allowed to expand their operations in Connecticut, saying they needed to fight back against competition from Massachusetts and other states.
The bill they were seeking would have allowed them considerably more freedom than the legislation that finally passed both houses of the General Assembly. They were looking for permission to build three new casinos in border areas of the state.
The bill that now goes to the Governor’s desk steps back on their demands — it would allow for the possibility of only one new facility, and it puts in place a two-step process, with any proposed project needing further approval from the General Assembly.
But Kevin Brown, the chairman of the Mohegan Tribe, said he believes it’s a win. "When this all began, I think we at the tribes, and in the two casinos that we run, probably thought that we didn’t stand a chance," he told WNPR. "And so to think that we’ve come this far along is a credit to the legislature for recognizing that, whether you’re for or against gambling, we have a record of conducting 20 years of responsible gaming in the state of Connecticut, that has resulted in an enormous amount of revenue back to the state, and thousands of jobs."
The two tribes had released an impact study which said that as many as 9,000 jobs might eventually be lost as competition eats away at gaming revenues in Connecticut.
Governor Malloy has not yet indicated whether he will sign the bill into law.
