Casino News In Ct

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Casino.org is the world’s leading independent online gaming authority, providing trusted online casino news, guides, reviews and information since 1995. The long-delayed satellite casino was approved by Connecticut lawmakers in 2017 to prevent critical gaming dollars from flowing north across the Connecticut-Massachusetts border to MGM Springfield.

1. Connecticut's two tribal casinos are back in play, opening their doors to the public Monday for the first time since mid-March. 'Freedom,' said Lisa Relihan, who drove from Litchfield to gamble at.
2. Connecticut’s two tribal-run casinos say they suffered massive financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Foxwoods reported this week a 31 percent decline from the last fiscal year, and Mohegan Sun reported a decline of nearly 28 percent. The fiscal year ended September 30. The casinos fully closed in mid-March.

Slot machine revenue was down only slightly in June at Connecticut’s two casinos as they reopened after a pandemic-related shutdown and a clash with Gov. Ned Lamont.

When Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun became the first casinos to reopen in the Northeast on June 1, tribal leaders were uncertain how quickly customers would return and if they would be afraid to venture back at a time of social distancing and mask-wearing.

But Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Chairman Rodney Butler said Thursday that slot revenue was down only 4.9% at Foxwoods and 3% at Mohegan compared to June 2019 — leading the tribes to contribute $20 million into Connecticut tax coffers under a long-running revenue sharing agreement.

“The results are a reflection of quite a few things,” Butler told The Courant. “One, pent-up demand. Two, a duopoly that hadn’t existed in 15 years. And three, confidence in the safety and protocols that we put in place. All of it made for a solid month. All of us in the state should be happy for that.”

The tribes clashed with Lamont, who had publicly sought a delay in opening by advocating a go-slow approach at a time when the coronavirus was spreading. But the tribal leaders said they had the authority as sovereign nations to reopen when they wanted. Lamont had no power to stop them, but he threatened — briefly — to take measures such as revoking their liquor licenses if necessary.

The businesses opened anyway and tried to get back to a sense of normalcy for customers heading to the slot machines, gambling tables and restaurants throughout the casinos.

At Foxwoods, all customers entering the complex have their temperature taken, and they are all required to wear masks.

“To date, we’ve had less than five people who have gone through the temperature checks” and were turned away at the door, Butler said. “People are self-policing. People who are feeling sick are just not showing up, which is great. On the mask side, everybody is wearing the mask. It’s no questions asked at this point. No issues. ... You do not get past our security without wearing a mask.

“We’ve been open for six weeks, and you don’t see any serious spiking in this part of the state. ... Nobody wants to catch this virus. People are taking precautions.”

As the virus was spreading quickly and the state reached a peak of nearly 2,000 hospitalization on April 22, there were concerns among some officials that the casinos could be a prime spot for spreading the virus with numerous out-of-state visitors. But the rates of infection were always lower in southeastern Connecticut than in spots like Fairfield County, and casinos said they would enact safety protocols with hand sanitizer and masks that would block the spread of the virus.

When they became the first casinos to reopen in the Northeast, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun had the market to themselves in the same way that they did in the glory days of the state’s casinos. One of the biggest local competitors, MGM Springfield, did not open until July 13 — giving Connecticut a six-week headstart on the competition.

Now, Butler said, all casinos in the region are open except for those in New York at Yonkers Raceway in Westchester County and Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. With more competition now from Springfield and beyond, officials will see if the June numbers are sustainable.

“With Rhode Island and Massachusetts and New Jersey and Pennsylvania opening up, we’re seeing the volume starting to soften because of that,” said Butler, who declined to make a prediction for the full month of July. “We’re still in the middle of a pandemic. ... We see the volume falling off in accordance with that.”

In June, Foxwoods contributed $8.4 million into the state coffers, down from $9 million in June 2019. Mohegan Sun contributed about $11.3 million, down slightly from $11.7 million last year.

Upon closing in mid-March, the tribes furloughed thousands of workers at their casinos, which generate millions of dollars in salaries and revenues in southeastern Connecticut. Combined, the two casinos paid the state $430 million at the peak in the 2007 fiscal year in an ongoing slot-machine agreement, but that number was expected to drop to $180 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30. The two casinos employ more than 12,000 workers, while many more are employed in the delivery of products and supplies to two of the world’s largest gambling operations.

At Foxwoods, 2,000 employees are back on the job in a region marked by high unemployment. The casino is not operating at 100%, and it will be fully reopened based on crowds and any developments in the virus. Butler said the employee count will remain at 2,000 for July.

Jeff Hamilton, the president and general manager of Mohegan Sun, said the casino’s June slot revenue of $45.5 million represented a 3% decline from last June.

“This past June did have less weekend days than June of 2019 as well, so it certainly was a strong month,” Hamilton said. “We’re encouraged by the early reopening figures and more importantly, we are excited about the return of what is now more than 3,000 team members. Our wide-ranging safety measures have been vital and well received, too, by both our valued guests and team members alike.”

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com.

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©2020 The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.)

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Connecticut lawmakers were urged Tuesday to finally legalize sports betting and internet gambling after years of debate, but it’s clear disagreement still remains as to whether the state’s federally recognized tribes have exclusive rights to that kind of wagering — an issue that has stymied the state’s efforts in the past.

“We can’t find anybody else from a legal perspective that doesn’t work for the tribes ... who has said they have exclusivity,” Ted Taylor, president of Sportech Venues Inc., told members of the General Assembly’s Public Safety Committee in his pitch to allow all existing Connecticut gambling operators to get into the sports betting game.

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Chairman Rodney Butler, however, insisted both sports betting and internet gambling fall under the decades-old memoranda of understanding between the state and the Mashantucket Pequot and the Mohegan tribes, who currently pay the state 25% of their slot machine revenues at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun in exchange for having the exclusive right to offer casino games.

“Suffice it to say, our tribes are resolved to defend our position and we would consider it a break in trust if the state allowed other entities to engage in sports betting without our agreement,” Butler told the lawmakers. Tribal leaders in the past have said they’d stop the payments to the state if they thought their deal was violated.

“Both of our governments, as well as the taxpayers of Connecticut, are well served by the existing agreements, and sports wagering can and should be implemented without putting those agreements in jeopardy,” said Ray Pineault, chief operating officer for Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment, which already operates online gambling in other states.

Despite the familiar arguments, both legislators and Butler insisted the state may be on the brink of finally hammering out a compromise, one that would benefit not only the two tribes, but possibly Sportech and the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, which also made a pitch to offer sports betting.

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“I feel like it’s so close,” said Rep. Kurt Vail, R-Stafford. “The hurdle seems so small now.”

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Butler said the tribes have resumed talks with Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont and his administration about gambling expansion in the state. Also, Butler said it appears lawmakers are more supportive of online gambling than in previous years after seeing so many other businesses move online during the pandemic.

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“I really do believe we’re going to get this through this year,” Butler told reporters after appearing virtually before the Public Safety Committee from Puerto Rico, where he announced a partnership between the Mashantucket Tribal Nation and LionGrove, a hospitality investment firm, to reopen the El San Juan Casino as the Foxwoods El San Juan Casino.

Butler said the tribes are willing to be flexible and open to compromise on a sports betting and internet gambling deal so long as their rights to exclusivity are protected.

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“Having the governor really dedicating effort to try to get this across the finish line, the legislature understanding it,” he said, “it seems to be all coming together in a way that can have a positive outcome for the state and for the tribes.”