Connecticut’s two federally recognized Native American tribes say they want to build a new casino on the site of a former movie theater in East Windsor. The announcement Monday caps more than a year of speculation by the tribes, who want to fend off competition from a planned MGM casino scheduled to open in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 2019.
It’s the first time the two tribes have worked together on a casino: the Mohegan Tribe runs the Mohegan Sun, and the Mashantucket Pequot run Foxwoods. Those two casinos are near each other in southeast Connecticut. East Windsor is in northern Connecticut, closer to MGM’s planned casino in Springfield. The tribes say their East Windsor casino won’t be as big as Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun.
East Windsor officials announced they’d approved a development deal with the tribes over the weekend that gives the town $3 million up front and another $3 million annually, on top of millions in property taxes.
MGM filed a lawsuit to block the casino last year, but it was tossed out of court.
