Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy plans to allow the building of a new tribal casino by signing the proposed bill. The new casino would be in direct competition with the Massachusetts casino project.
On Friday, Malloy’s spokesperson, Mark Bergman, stated that the “governor fully intends to sign it into law.” Allowing this bill to pass will permit the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to receive proposals from interested parties looking to host a satellite casino. The casino would be in direct competition with the new casino planned in Massachusetts and the request for proposals will be displayed on the Department of Consumer Protection site.
Most likely the tribes will look to building the new casino along the Interstate 91 strip, tribe officials stated. Seeing as a long-standing, inter-tribal history exists, lawmakers are interested in how the tribes will reconcile running the casino together. Buttler and Brown, the official tribe representatives are hopeful for a successful collaboration.
Butler admitted that working together “[] doesn’t come without its challenges for certain. “There are some longstanding hard feelings that go back for centuries. People have a hard time letting some of those things go.” The tribes are waiting for the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and the General Assembly to review and amend the project.