HARTFORD — An expansion of casino gambling in Connecticut will move forward this year without further study by the state, after a controversial bill in the legislature was voted down Thursday by the commerce committee.
In an 11-7 vote, the committee killed a bill that sought a comprehensive study of the state's gaming industry, just as plans are unfolding for a third casino in Greater Hartford. Three of the 21 committee members were absent.
"I'm disappointed," said Rep. Chris Perone, D-Norwalk, who introduced the bill and is co-chairman of the committee. "What I was trying to do was improve our understanding of how an expansion of gaming would affect our economy. I see us expanding casino gaming without doing much due diligence."
Perone added: "There was a lot of pressure to vote this down."
It is rare for a bill to be rejected in committee and even rarer for one that is introduced by a co-chairman. Typically, if support is tepid for a bill, it doesn't come to a vote and simply dies in committee.Thursday's vote came against the backdrop of the state's deepening financial troubles and a day after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced another round of tens of millions of dollars in budget cuts for the current fiscal year."People are leery of doing anything to hurt revenue, to jeopardize revenue," Perone said.Majority Leader Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said if the bill didn't make it out of committee, "then there is little appetite to advance the bill further this session."The bill was introduced as a partnership of the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes — the operators of Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods — seeks to build a third, "satellite" casino in north central Connecticut. The partnership — MMCT Venture — aims to dilute the competitive firepower of a $950 million casino and entertainment complex in nearby Springfield. MGM Resorts International plans to open it in late 2018, and the tribes hope to get a jump on it by opening earlier.A cornerstone of their push for the casino has been stemming the loss of jobs — more than 9,000 in one study — and $100 million of its share of annual slot machine revenue.A state law enacted last year gave the Mohegans and Mashantucket Pequots the sole right to search for a location for a third casino, but they still must come back to the legislature for final approval, which isn't guaranteed.The Mohegans and Mashantucket Pequots criticized the bill as a delaying tactic. The tribes said there have been enough studies; at least three — two by the tribes and one by MGM — have been conducted so far on casino expansion. At last week's hearing, MGM said it was embarking on another study.An MMCT spokesman said Thursday that the Springfield casino threatens Connecticut jobs and revenues."Those are the facts, and we appreciate the support we're getting from the many legislators who want to make sure that doesn't happen," the spokesman, Andrew Doba, said in a statement.MGM Resorts International has allied itself with the Kent-based Schaghticoke Tribal Nation in opposing the law, which excludes them from also seeking to potentially open a third casino. MGM and the Schaghticokes also are suing."The fact remains that there are significant unanswered questions and unknown ramifications associated with considering whether to establish commercial casinos in Connecticut," Alan Feldman, MGM executive vice president, global government and industry affairs, said in a statement. "We continue to believe that having the state commission a comprehensive, objective analysis — something that's never been done around the issue of casino gaming — is the best way forward for the state and its taxpayers."Sen. Tim Larson, D-East Hartford, a commerce committee member and co-chairman of the public safety committee which oversees gaming, did not attend Thursday's meeting but sent a strongly worded letter opposing the bill."Every time MMCT Ventures' casino project is delayed, the threat by MGM grows larger and more immediate," Larson, a casino expansion supporter, wrote. "There is no time to waste here, and there's no need for another study. Any political fighting over this issue represents a major failure to support two of our oldest and most loyal partners, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes."Throughout the meeting, Perone defended the need for the study, saying it is not designed to head off expansion of casino gambling off tribal lands. The only thing that can do that is if the tribes come back with a location and the legislature turns it down.He said the study would help lawmakers better understand the gaming environment in Connecticut, the broader, competitive landscape and the regulatory framework for a commercial casino off tribal lands.Perone added that, given the state's fiscal woes, "to jeopardize future revenue, to block the construction of a casino would be foolhardy."Rep. Selim G. Noujaim, R-Waterbury, a committee member, said the study would likely be completed after MMCT had selected a site. The bill requires the study to be completed by Jan. 1, 2018."In my opinion, you do a study to make a decision," Noujaim said. "If the decision has already been made, what is the value of the study?"| < Prev | Next > |
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