In what’s being framed as a state versus state battle over gambling, Connecticut lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow two Native American tribes to open more casinos. Industry leaders are warning of thousands of lost jobs if nothing is done to combat future casinos in Massachusetts and New York.Typically rivals, Rodney Butler, chair of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, and Kevin Brown, head of the Mohegan Tribe, sat side by side at the state capital in Hartford Tuesday urging lawmakers to support the legislation. The bill would allow the two tribes to jointly operate up to three gaming facilities on non-reservation land. Brown’s tribe runs Mohegan Sun.
“The decision is yours to make, but we are here to tell you that we can help you help us protect Connecticut jobs and revenue from the direct assault on our industry and on our state by the commonwealth of Massachusetts and the state of New York,” said Brown.
By 2017, resort destination casinos in Springfield and eastern Massachusetts to the north and two others in eastern New York are expected to open. Butler, whose tribe owns Foxwoods Resort Casino, says people living near Connecticut’s borders will flock to those sites, taking with them 18,000 direct and indirect jobs.
“I don’t want to misstate that this is a revenue growth or enhancement initiative, Butler said. “This really is about preserving and protecting the gaming economy that we have here in this state.”
Both tribes were in the bidding for casino licenses in Massachusetts. The tribes brought on Clyde Barrow, a gaming industry expert who assisted the state of Massachusetts in developing its plans, to assess the overall economic impact. He says over the past eight years, total gross revenue for Connecticut’s casinos has declined by 39 percent or $1.2 billion, resulting in a combined loss of about 8,500 jobs. Barrow says that process will at least repeat itself over the next five years if nothing is done.
“This is about to be the largest interstate transfer of gaming revenue in recent U.S. history second only to the transfer that according from New Jersey’s casinos to Pennsylvania’s casinos from 2006 to 2014,” said Barrow.
Barrow says by 2019, Connecticut’s general fund will lose $100 million annually from its revenue sharing compact with the two tribes. Democratic State Senator Tim Larson chairs the Public Safety and Security Committee.
“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.
It’s expected the non-destination gaming facilities would open in northern and western Connecticut near Interstates 84, 91 and 95. Former Connecticut Republican Congressman Robert Steele, who’s written a novel about what he says are Connecticut casinos’ negative impacts, testified in opposition to the bill.
“Why Connecticut would want to double down on a rapidly declining state industry is difficult to understand when we have so many other pressing economic needs and opportunities,” said Steele.
Lottery and off-track betting leaders warned of negative impacts to their industries while union representatives for dealers and construction workers voiced their support. Meanwhile, Chief Richard Velky of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation of Kent says the legislation shouldn’t be pursued while his tribe seeks federal recognition, which allows for the opening of a casino. The federal government had recognized the tribe and the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, but reversed those decisions in 2005 after pressure from the state of Connecticut, fearing more casino competition and land seizure.
“I state emphatically, for the record, STN neither seeks nor would we construct a gaming facility of any sort on our ancestral reservation in Kent,” said Velky.
Last week Chief Alan Russell of the Schaghticoke Indian Tribe told the Associated Press that in light of the legislation, his tribe feels compelled to look at opening a bingo hall on its reservation in the Berkshire mountains. The two Schaghticoke groups splintered in the 1980s.
