Connecticut prepares a competitive venue

East Windsor, Connecticut, would allow a new Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans’ casino to compete with Springfield’s MGM.

US.- The Connecticut’s Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans native tribe would expand their gaming services by adding a new casino in East Windsor. The latest gaming venue would directly compete with neighbour MGM Resort International’s US$950 million casino in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The gaming project has been backed by the State’s General Assembly as it would help to maintain the tourism industry’s rates as well as increasing the local revenues by generating job positions and business opportunities. The General Assembly has also urged legislators to approve the measure soon.

“Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of Connecticut’s economy, which now employs about 83,000 people. We need to not only protect our tourism jobs, but grow them,” wrote Tim Larson, D-East Hartford, who represents the 3rd Senate District, East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington and South Windsor.

The new casino would protect the regional economy and would generate 1,700 construction jobs and over 1,700 permanent casino jobs. Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans native tribe operates the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos, which destined to Connecticut’s revenue US$7 billion over the last 20 years. “The tribes aren’t trying to enlarge the casino gaming industry in Connecticut in the way another casino like MGM would do,” added Larson. “They are simply proposing a satellite gaming facility in a location meant to capture some of the revenue and jobs that will be lost to Massachusetts, if no action is taken.”