On the eve of a public hearing on two competing casino expansion bills, the operators of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun pushed their plans Wednesday, releasing a rendering of their proposed East Windsor casino.
MMCT Venture, a partnership of the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans, envisions a 200,000-square-foot gaming and entertainment venue off I-91 at the long-vacant, Showcase Cinemas property. The rendering released Wednesday suggests that MMCT will raze some of the existing movie theater complex.
On Thursday, the legislature's public safety and security committee will hold public hearings on two casino expansion bills. If either is approved by the full House and Senate, it could mean the establishment of the first casino in the state off a tribal reservation.
The hearing begins at 8:30 a.m. in Room 1D of the Legislative Office Building.
The proposed East Windsor casino — roughly the size of a nearby Wal-Mart supercenter — would include 2,000 slot machines and 50 to 150 table games. Half the venue would be devoted to gaming, the other half to shops, restaurants and entertainment. MMCT signed a development agreement with East Windsor last week.
One bill would allow MMCT to build in East Windsor to compete with a $950 million casino and entertainment complex now under construction by MGM Resorts International. The legislation calls for the venue to pay 25 percent of slot revenue and 25 percent of table game revenue to the state.
The table game revenue would be split, with 10 percent of the revenue going to directly to state coffers and 15 percent supporting state tourism initiatives.
MMCT said the revenue could add as much as $10 million annually to the state's tourism promotion budget. The partnership cited state economic development statistics that say Connecticut's $14 billion tourism industry supports 80,000 jobs.
The legislation "is exactly what Connecticut needs to thwart an immediate threat across our border," Kevin Brown, chairman of the Mohegan Tribe, said Wednesday. "What's more, tourism-boosting provisions make this a statewide bill that will benefit every corner of Connecticut."
The competing casino expansion bill would open up the process to more operators and proposals, an approach aggressively pushed by MGM. MGM says the state would fare better if a casino was located in southwestern Connecticut, and it has expressed interest in such a development.
MGM continued its attack Wednesday on MMCT's plans and its standing as the only casino operator now allowed by the state to pursue a location for a third casino. MGM said it has hired Connecticut economist Nicholas Perna who will testify Thursday that a competitive process "quite likely" would have more substantial financial benefits.
Critics say MGM is just trying to protect its investment in Springfield, and it is prohibited under its Massachusetts license from building within 50 miles of Springfield.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has asked the state attorney general for an opinion on how the expansion would affect the decades-old agreement that brings 25 percent of slot revenue from Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun to the state — even if it is the tribes leading the expansion.
The agreement, known as the compact, provides that the tribes have the exclusive right to run casinos in exchange for the slot revenue. The agreement would be violated if a casino was established on private property outside a reservation.
MGM said Wednesday that concerns over the potential loss of slot revenue — projected to be $267 million this year — are rising among local officials who are facing cuts in state aid.
The Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans have proposed amendments to address that issue. The tribes have preliminary backing from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which must approve such a change, but it is not binding, pending final approval.
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