Tribes against Mississippi’s government
Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribal nations demanded the government their right of operating a casino.
US.- The Mashantucket Pequot tribe announced a partnership to build a US$265 million casino on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and that it will lend the name to Foxwoods Resort Casino at Biloxi Pointe. However, the federal government has set several measures to avoid granting the tribe a gaming license.
Meanwhile, they gathered forces with the Mohegan tribal nation and both organisations presented a formal letter to the Interior secretary announcing they had “no choice but to approve their gaming agreements with Connecticut and clear the way for them to jointly develop a commercial casino in East Windsor.”
“IGRA allows the Secretary only two options once a compact has been submitted for review — he must either affirmatively approve, or affirmatively disapprove, within 45 days of receipt,” they wrote. “IGRA further requires that if the Secretary neither approves nor disapproves a compact, it is deemed approved to the extent it is consistent with IGRA 45 days after its submission to the Secretary.”
The projected casino would be built on the site of a former Heinz pet food factory on Biloxi’s Back Bay. Louisiana businessman Chris Ferrara bought the site and won Mississippi Gaming Commission approval for a casino site in 2012.
Although the commission still has to approve the Foxwoods plan, which calls for a 500-room hotel and a casino with almost 1,400 slots and table games, the partners say they expect to open the casino by 2019. It would be the 13th casino on Mississippi’s coast.
