Connecticut: Casinos “on the table” as budget crisis grows

"I think casinos are on the table," Aresimowicz said. "I really think it will work its way out through the budget process. I think the casino itself will be part of the budget solution. ... I won't take it off the table."

Two bills have been sent to the House and Senate that would expand casino gambling for the first time off Native American reservations in Connecticut.

One favors allowing a partnership of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to establish a satellite casino in East Windsor. The casino is aimed at diluting the effect on Connecticut's gambling industry from a $950 million casino and entertainment complex under construction in Springfield.

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A competing bill would require a competitive process allowing more potential operators to make proposals alongside the tribes. MGM Resorts International, the developer of the Springfield complex, has pushed this option aggressively, arguing that southwestern Connecticut would be a better location, tapping into the lucrative New York market.

"MGM is in the building because they know they got a great deal in Massachusetts, so that they can compete for Connecticut dollars,'' Gov. Dannel P. Malloy told reporters. "They know it, and they don't want that to happen [in East Windsor]. That's why they're in the building. Let's not argue that they're the defenders of commerce. They're not. They want their exclusive piece of the pie, based on the casino in Springfield."

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MGM has said it is interested in southwestern Connecticut where it sees a stronger market for a casino and the prospect for a stronger return for the state.

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Earlier in the day Uri Clinton, senior vice president and legal counsel for MGM Resorts, told a press conference that other casino operators were interested in Connecticut as well.He said Caesars Entertainment and Pinnacle Entertainment, who each run more than a dozen casinos, have been at the Capitol. "That shows there's a competitive marketplace," he said.

Throughout the day Wednesday tribal leaders and casino workers made their case for more gambling.

"Given the financial challenges that the state is facing there is no other bill that gives certainty to the state of Connecticut with the jobs and revenue that we are preserving with this bill," Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council, said in a news conference.

Butler was accompanied by Kevin Brown, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council, and several dozen casino workers who arrived at the legislative office building in two buses.

Brown said the tribes soon expect to receive a letter from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs lending assurance that an off-reservation casino operated by the tribes won't jeopardize the agreement that guarantees the state 25 percent of casino slot revenues each month. This year, the state is expected to receive $267 million in payments.

The tribes have also offered the state a guarantee of those payments. Brown said a final decision from the federal bureau can't be sought until the state passes legislation.

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The state has a long-standing agreement with both tribes that grant the tribes exclusive right to operate casinos in exchange for the slot revenue payments.

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The state attorney general has warned that agreement might be violated with the establishment of a third casino, even if it is the tribes doing the expanding.

Brown said he could not respond with specifics on comments by Sen. John W. Fonfara, D-Hartford, earlier this week saying the tribes should also address the competition their casinos pose to Hartford and venues such as the XL Center.

Fonfara, a supporter of the competing bill and co-chairman of the legislature's finance committee, noted the casinos have taken a major bite out of concert business at the XL Center. And a convention center now under construction at Mohegan Sun is sure to put significant pressure on Hartford's convention venue, Fonfara said.

Aresimowicz also expressed strong optimism Wednesday that talks with state employee unions will reach a deal on concessions to help close the projected budget gap that is now more than $2 billion for the next fiscal year. The state is looking for $700 million in labor savings next year.

"I'm very confident,'' Aresimowicz said. "We all know what 4,200 layoffs would do here in the state of Connecticut. It would decimate our services, and they know that, too. ... I'm confident, in the end, as they've done before, they're going to do whatever they can do to help us with this problem, and take a financial hit for it.''

Without a deal, Malloy has threatened 4,200 layoffs in more than 50 departments and agencies that would save an estimated $400 million a year. About 1,100 layoff notices could go out in the coming weeks if no agreements are reached.