Friday was the deadline for proposals to build the third casino in Connecticut.
East Hartford, East Windsor, Hartford and Windsor Locks all submitted plans, but the developer of the Enfield Square Mall pulled out.
Town officials in Enfield struck down the plan for a casino, citing lack of support and officials said the owner of the mall did not want to jeopardize relationship with city.
"They determined that that good relationship was more important than moving forward with a casino in an uncertain environment," said Enfield Town Manager Lee Erdmann.
Mall managers had hoped to renovate the mall into a casino and planned to have a conference call on Friday to come up with a decision on whether to pursue the plan.
Enfield was one of several communities that planned to submit a proposal to MMCT Venture, which is a combined endeavor of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, which operates Foxwoods casino, and Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which operates Mohegan Sun.
The East Hartford proposal is on 25 acres of land home to the old Showcase Cinemas. The city’s finance director says a casino would bring a lot of money in, but there are other issues to consider.
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"There's certain things that come with the casino everyone should rightly be worried about from traffic to other things, but on the flip side it represents a real opportunity to grow our grant list and stabilize our taxes," said East Hartford Finance Director Michael Walsh.
In Hartford, officials say the application is a way to keep options open for the city.
Mayor Segarra released the following statement on the matter:
“My administration has sought to attract businesses that create jobs and generate needed revenue for the City of Hartford. Any opportunities for significant capital investments in the City of Hartford should be reviewed and analyzed to determine what, if any, detriments or benefits could impact the City.
It is our understanding that gaming is a probability for the Greater Hartford region and regardless of the location, the Capital City will feel its impact. For this reason, we have responded with our own proposal to keep that door open so that the next administration and the residents of Hartford will have the opportunity to weigh in on the process and make a final determination of what is in the best interest of our city.”
Windsor Locks submitted two proposals despite a lack of support from the board of selectman, and East Windsor also submitted an application with hopes of bringing casino revenue into their town.
The tribes plan to make a decision by Dec. 15.
