The chairmen of the two tribal councils that run casinos in Connecticut signed an accord Thursday to work together for a common purpose – "to protect Connecticut jobs" – by building a third casino in the state.
The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribal nations also want to protect their businesses, the largest casinos in North America. MGM in Springfield, Massachusetts, is slowly building a casino downtown, which will likely lure gamblers who now head to southeastern Connecticut.
The Connecticut tribes want to cut them off, together, with a third casino in the state.
"We arrive here after centuries of tribal conflict, decades of gaming competition, and we’re here to cooperate in the spirit of all things Connecticut," said Kevin Brown of the Mohegan Tribal Council.
The Enfield Square Mall would like to provide the site where Macy’s is now located for a third Connecticut casino. The owner of the old Showcase Cinemas in East Hartford wants the tribes to consider his location. East Windsor has a defunct Showcase Cinemas as well, and that town has already set up a process for citizens to vote on a casino.
The tribes have commissioned Pearce Real Estate to help them select the site. The new casino would have enough card games to give dealers some job security if Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have to cut back.
"If our workers lose their job through layoff, they’ll be able to go over there and work at the casino here in Connecticut, another casino," said Denise Gladue, who along with her daughter is a dealer at Foxwoods.
Whatever the tribes decide is subject to a vote of the state legislature, and could be vulnerable to a lawsuit from MGM claiming the state government is unconstitutionally discriminating by favoring the two tribes that already operate casinos in Connecticut.
The state government depends on the casinos’ slot machines for hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenue.
