EAST WINDSOR, Conn. — The state of Connecticut and the Mashantucket Pequot tribe have another opportunity to prove in federal court that the Trump administration and former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke bowed to political pressure from MGM Resorts International and blocked plans for a East Windsor, Connecticut, casino.
The tribe and the state have until Friday to file an amended complaint, according to a ruling issued last week by U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Judge Rudolph Contreras and reported in The Day of New London.
An earlier version of the suit was dismissed.
MCT Venture, a partnership of the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes, wants to expand gambling to the site, which is located just 13 miles south of Springfield and the nearly $1 billion MGM Springfield casino.
Called Tribal Winds, the East Windsor casino is meant to compete with MGM Springfield, but the tribes need permission from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Department of the Interior to expand gambling to a new location.
The tribes felt they were on their way to getting that permission, but Department of the Interior failed to act on the request within 45 days. Now, the Connecticut legislature is considering a bill that would eliminate the need for federal permission, but that bill has not passed yet.
Connecticut and the Mashantucket Pequot allege that Zinke ignored their proposal due to pressure from MGM and Republican lawmakers in Nevada.
Zinke resigned from the cabinet in December amid ethics investigations into conflict of interest on land deals.
The impact of MGM Springfield on the gambling business Connecticut has not been as large as the tribes initially feared.
Connecticut budget planners had expected a 25-percent drop in slot revenues from Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino due to MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor. Last month, Connecticut budget officials amended this forecast with a a much smaller hit of 9.2 percent to Connecticut revenue even with Encore set to open later this year.
Backers of Tribal Winds say the East Windsor casino could support 5,000 jobs from the start of construction through the grand opening, with at least 2,000 jobs for the building trades during construction and 2,000 permanent jobs at the facility once it’s operational.
The casino is also expected to support 1,000 indirect jobs at small business vendors, according to the tribes.