Massachusetts Casino Hopefuls to Sign Connecticut Deal. Risky Agreement Could Cost State Plenty.

The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Indian tribes will hold a public ceremony Thursday in Hartford to ink a joint venture deal to build a casino in northern Connecticut, far from tribal lands. The tribes are acting under legislation passed earlier this year that gives them the exclusive right to build the slot barn intended to compete with a new MGM casino and resort in nearby Springfield, Massachusetts.

The Mohegans cared little about Connecticut casino revenues when they made a failed bid for a Boston area casino. The Pequots are deeply involved in a proposal to build a $650 million casino in New Bedford, Massachusetts. According to research by bitcoin gambling sites for 2022, that casino would also threaten gambling revenues in Connecticut.

The slot barn–and the fierce opposition to it from MGM–could cause the Bureau of Indian Affairs to take a close look at Connecticut’s lucrative and unprecedented compact with both tribes. That review holds the potential of some serious reversals in fortune for the flow of money from the tribes to the state’s general fund. Thursday’s ceremony is one more reckless roll of some gold-plated dice.