When it comes to one big potential source of cash for the state, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy opposes some top Democrats.
Democrats including Senate President pro-tem Martin Looney of New Haven and House Majority Leader Matt Ritter of Hartford want to at least consider forcing the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to pay a one-time fee for the right to open a casino in East Windsor.
The tribes’ partnership, MMCT, would gain a new franchise in the East Windsor location, the state’s first commercial casino. They’ve agreed to pay 25 percent of slot and table games revenues. A fee would be on top of that, similar to what commercial operators such as MGM Resorts International have paid in other states.
Nothing doing, Malloy said this week, as budget talks continued.
“I think that that is a pipe dream which MGM gave vision to in the hopes that they would defeat another casino in Connecticut,” Malloy said. “The reality is that there’s only one transaction to have in the state of Connecticut and that is with the tribal nations.”
He continued, “They have been our partners to the tune of billions of dollars…and to put that at risk or to end that agreement in pursuit of a one-time payment doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
The tribes say the $7 billion they’ve paid the state in revenue sharing, combined with payments going forward, have in effect covered the the expansion rights. In siding with them, Malloy delivers the tribes their second victory this week — along with a federal appeals court upholding a lower court’s dismissal of an MGM suit over search process that led to the East Windsor selection.
A fee as part of the state budget, separate from the bill allowing the casino, could be tricky even if negotiators were to agree on it, because Malloy will most likely sign the casino bill before a budget is done. The tribes would advance the state $30 million in the coming year, against future revenue payments, under a separate bill adopted by the General Assembly.
