Casino expansion legislation passed by the Connecticut State Senate

The casino industry is all set for expansion in the state of Connecticut with the State Senate passing new casino expansion legislation. This recently passed legislation by the Connecticut State Senate allows the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to open a commercial casino in the northern Connecticut community of East Windsor.

As reported from the Hartford Courant newspaper, the Eastern state’s upper legislative body confirmed the casino expansion measure by a vote of 24 to 12 on Wednesday. Now this legislation is due to be sent out to the Connecticut House of Representatives for consideration. As per the newspaper reports this measure would open way for MMCT Venture which is a partnership between the  casino-operating Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, enabling them to run a satellite gambling facility in East Windsor. However the critics state that this kind of arrangement could be possible risk to state’s existing gaming business.

Mohegan Sun development in south eastern Connecticut is managed by The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority while the nearby Foxwoods Resort Casino and MMCT Venture enterprise is managed by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. This way MMCT Ventures long promoted East Windsor is a plan to dilute the impact after the late 2019 opening of the $950 million MGM Springfield development which is built by MGM Resorts International in neighbouring Massachusetts.

Rodney Butler, Chairman for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Council said in a statement “The [Connecticut State] Senate took us one step closer to saving more than 9,000 jobs and millions in state tax revenues.”

Joe Verrengia, a Democratic member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, shared with the Associated Press, “It is a very complicated issue in and of itself and the political piece is all over the place because you have competing interests and you’re talking about a lot of money.”

However with this new legislation the future of the industry looks bright in the state and this is actually needed from the point of competition within the sector.