Ned Lamont, the governor of Connecticut, isn’t opposed to a new casino property being run jointly by the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, but he would prefer that they put their venue in Bridgeport and not East Windsor. The first-term governor had tried to entice them with a sweet package of gaming rights in an effort to sway their opinion, but the tribes didn’t bite. They have 
essentially told him thanks, but no thanks.
Lamont was willing to give the tribes exclusivity for sports gambling at all of their properties, online sports gambling and online gambling to include casino games, poker and eSports. He is also willing to consider throwing in the XL Center, a major gaming arena, in Hartford. The only condition was that they forego their wish to build the East Windsor casino, dubbed Tribal Winds, and move the venue to Bridgeport.
As the tribes have said before, dropping East Windsor isn’t an option. The tribes were approved to launch the property in 2017 and they have already invested $20 million for its completion. MGM Resorts will just have to figure out another way to keep its revenue flowing.
MGM has been fighting the launch of Tribal Winds and has accused Connecticut of illegally approving commercial gambling. It asserts that, because the venue is not on tribal land, it is essentially a commercial gaming property and, as such, would only be allowed through voter approval. It has taken its case to court in an effort to force delays in the venue’s construction.
Some believe that MGM was able to manipulate government officials at the highest level in order to find support for its fight. The Department of the Interior (DOI), which has to approve tribal venues, waited more than two years to weigh in on the subject and former DOI Secretary Ryan Zinke is now under investigation offer delays in approving tribal gaming compacts in Connecticut.
Any plan presented by Lamont or a legislative body would have to be approved by the entire legislature. So far, there has been no movement toward accepting alternative plans for the tribal operations, which will leave the Mashantucket and Mohegan content on pushing forward with their current project.
