The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes will meet in Windsor Locks on Thursday to discuss their plans for a possible new casino there. The meeting will take place at 7pm at the Windsor Locks High School auditorium, the Associated Press reports.
Earlier this month, efforts by the two tribes to select a location for what would be Connecticut’s third casino resulted in the elimination of three municipalities, with the choices being narrowed to include East Windsor and Windsor Locks. Potential locations in Windsor Locks include the Thrall Tobacco Farm site near I-91 and Bradley International Airport.
MMCT Venture is the joint effort by the owners of Connecticut’s two tribal casinos; Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino. The unlikely alliance between the two competing tribes formed in an attempt to keep gambling dollars in the state, rather than lose jobs and revenue to MGM Resorts International‘s $950 million Springfield casino slated to open next year near the Connecticut, Massachusetts border. MMCT began its search on October 1, 2015, with the deadline for choosing a location being December 8 last year. However, the chairmen of the tribes that run Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun casinos said in November last year that the decision deadline can be flexible. The tribes again extended the application deadline in September to accommodate the growing number of municipalities that showed an interest in garnering the right to host a possible third casino in the state.
During Thursday’s meeting in Windsor Locks, the tribes will have the opportunity to hear the concerns of residents and respond to questions, according to Mohegan Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown. Brown said the meeting will also give the tribes a chance to “clearly outline the positive elements we want to bring to the community,” as reported by the news agency.
MMCT initially said that it wanted the satellite casino opened prior to the opening of MGM Springfield, however, with that expected by the end of next year, it’s not likely to happen.
Recently, a local property developer who was pushing for MMCT Venture to build its new casino in East Hartford criticized the two tribes’ elimination of the municipality. East Hartford was one of three municipalities that were eliminated from consideration earlier in the month. Meanwhile, MGM Resorts International is calling for MMCT to release the economic analysis that led them to narrow the possible site choices to East Windsor and Windsor Locks.