Members of Connecticut’s U.S. congressional delegation are calling for an investigation into the Department of the Interior over a decision on a new tribal casino in the state.
Connecticut’s two federally recognized tribes, the Mashantucket Pequot and the Mohegan, say they’ve been held up by the Department’s inaction on a decision to allow them to open a new casino in East Windsor.
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut is one of those calling for an investigation, along with U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representatives John Larson and Joe Courtney.
Murphy says the Department of Interior met with MGM lobbyists, but wouldn’t meet with representatives for the tribes, “And that’s not the mission of the Department of the Interior. The Department of the Interior is supposed to be looking out for the best interests of tribes, not the best interests of Las Vegas billion-dollar casinos.”
MGM is also lobbying for a casino license in the Bridgeport area. The company sued the state of Connecticut in 2016, saying it was unfair to allow only the tribes to build new casinos on non-tribal land. That lawsuit was thrown out last year.
