Governor of Connecticut Ned Lamont has requested that two Indian tribes reconsider plans for an East Windsor casino in exchange for legalized sports betting statewide, a Bridgeport casino and the opportunity to renovate and add gambling to the XL Center in Hartford.
The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, who are yet to confirm whether they will accept the offer, have previously proposed a $300 million East Windsor casino to compete with rival MGM Springfield.
Both tribes are still awaiting the green light from East Windsor officials to build the proposed Tribal Winds casino, which is expected to generate $8.5 million per year.
If the proposal to the tribes is accepted, it is expected that punters may be able to wager bets on the numerous sport events that take place at the XL Center, originally known as the Hartford Civic Center.
But while both tribes have set their eyes on competing with MGM Springfield, budget analysts in Connecticut believe that the overall impact of the Springfield casino on other state casinos is not as negative as had previously been feared.
Connecticut budget planners had expected a 25 percent drop in revenue generated by the slots at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino due to MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor. But in January, state officials revised this forecast down to 9.2 percent.
