Casino In East Windsor Suspended As MGM Drops Lawsuit

Connecticut’s two federally recognized tribes initiated discussions in the mid-2010s about potentially collaborating to establish a third casino in East Windsor, located just across the Massachusetts border. Concurrently, MGM Resorts has been consistently filing lawsuits aimed at obstructing this partnership for a significant period.

MGM Resorts has finally dropped its latest lawsuit against the tribes’ project in Connecticut. This comes after the newly amended tribal-state compacts of this year, which aimed to expand gambling in the state. As part of the agreement, the tribes have given up their pursuit of an East Windsor property.

MGM Resorts suit dismissal ends years-long legal saga

According to a report by The Day, MGM Resorts Global Development and its subsidiary Blue Tarp Development have voluntarily withdrawn the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, with the dismissal being “without prejudice.”

The focus of the lawsuit was specifically on the U.S. Department of the Interior, which had previously granted approval for amendments to the tribal-state compacts that authorized the tribes’ East Windsor project.

In 2015, the Manshantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and Mohegan Tribe collaborated to establish MMCT Venture, a joint venture aimed at investigating potential locations for an East Windsor casino. Notably, they also decided on the name for this upcoming establishment, the Tribal Winds Casino.

MGM wasted no time in initiating legal proceedings to challenge the constitutionality of Connecticut’s exclusive allowance for tribal casinos. Although a federal judge dismissed their first lawsuit, MGM remained undeterred and proceeded to unveil their own casino project in Connecticut, known as MGM Bridgeport, in 2017. Despite this, Connecticut lawmakers showed their support for the tribes’ proposal of a $300 million casino in East Windsor by passing legislation in early 2017 to endorse it.

MGM expressed its opposition to an East Windsor casino mainly because it would create competition for its newly established MGM Springfield casino, situated just across the state border in Massachusetts. Ultimately, the tribes’ chosen location for their Tribal Winds Casino was a mere 12 miles away from MGM Springfield. The Springfield property of MGM commenced operations in August 2018.

In 2019, MGM submitted a lawsuit, which has since been dismissed, alleging that the amended compacts in Connecticut unjustly disadvantaged non-tribal operators, including MGM, in their competition.

East Windsor project on hold for at least 10 years, per new contract

The tribes are now permitted to provide sports betting and online gambling, as stated in the recently revised compacts. Governor Ned Lamont signed legislation endorsing these new compacts in late May.

The new compacts are still awaiting federal approval, which is expected to be granted soon. The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs has until mid-July to thoroughly examine and officially release the reviewed compacts.

The MGM lawsuit is especially relevant due to the tribes’ explicit agreement in the amended compacts to refrain from pursuing an East Windsor Casino for a period of 10 years.

CT Lottery to choose sports betting partner while MGM looks at other options

The Bridgeport casino plan in Connecticut, one of MGM’s designs, has hit a roadblock and appears to have come to a halt, according to the CT Post’s report in April. However, this doesn’t imply that MGM Resorts has completely given up on their plans for the Constitution State.

The new agreement in Connecticut not only allows the tribes to expand their gambling activities but also grants authorization for the Connecticut Lottery to run an online sportsbook and operate 15 retail sportsbooks.

The CT Lottery is in the process of choosing a partner for sports betting. After releasing the Request for Proposals (RFP), the CT Lottery received 15 responses. Out of those, five operators were selected by the CT Lottery to give formal presentations. Four of those operators were specifically asked to respond to the Connecticut sports betting RFP.

The Day reports that the CT Lottery spokesperson declined to confirm or deny whether BetMGM Sportsbook could be among the selected finalists.

On June 28, the CT Lottery plans to announce their selected sports betting partner, unveiling the winning bidder.

MGM might consider exploring other avenues to establish a presence in Connecticut’s gaming industry. However, by dropping its lawsuit against the tribes’ East Windsor project, they have eliminated any potential conflicts and created a more favorable environment for potential future endeavors.