A long-running feud between two native tribes in Connecticut and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has come to an end, for now. The tribes have dropped their lawsuit against the department, which had been submitted after the former Interior Secretary, Ryan Zinke, had allegedly worked to prevent the tribes from expanding their casino operations.
The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, along with Connecticut, had sued the DOI in 2017. Lawmakers in the state had asked Zinke to approve amended gaming compacts after Connecticut authorized the tribes to build a joint casino project in East Windsor. Zinke never responded and the state, with the tribes, argued that Zinke had been influenced by MGM, which operates the MGM Springfield in Massachusetts, the northern neighbor to Connecticut.
Zinke vacated his position earlier this year, but is still the target of a federal investigation into his actions.
David Bernhardt now holds the reigns at the DOI and allowed Interior Department Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney to review the tribal compacts. On March 15, she approved the compacts.
The two casinos operated by the tribes, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, give 25% of their gross slot revenue to Connecticut. This amounted to $264 million last year and the compacts contain language to ensure that slot disbursements at both facilities continues.
The East Windsor property has been dubbed Tribal Winds. It is expected to cost $400 million to build and should be ready at some point in late 2020. It will offer 60 gaming tables, 1,800 slot machines, a concert venue and restaurants. By way of comparison, MGM Springfield offers 120 gaming tables and 2,550 slot machines.
East Windsor, Connecticut isn’t far from the state’s border with Massachusetts, or the MGM Springfield. The casino giant has asserted that it will continue to fight for a competitive bidding process to be extended by Connecticut for any casino in the area, stating, “MGM remains steadfast in our view that Bridgeport is the best location in Connecticut for a commercial casino if the state is to maximize jobs, economic growth, tourism, and revenue—and a transparent, competitive process is in the state’s best interest.”
