A bill that would allow two Native American tribes to jointly open and operate up to three gaming facilities in Connecticut has made it past its first legislative panel. The General Assembly’s Public Safety and Security Committee approved the legislation Thursday.Native American leaders who own the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino say the facilities to open on non-reservation land would stem the tide of job and revenue loss to future casinos in Massachusetts and New York. Committee chair Democratic State Senator Tim Larson made this point during a nearly five hour public hearing on the bill Tuesday.
“If I had a dollar for every time that someone told us that Connecticut wasn’t business friendly…if we can’t at least entertain this opportunity for the two of you then shame on us,” said Larson.
The committee approved the bill 15 to 8. It now heads to the Senate.
