“Make no mistake about it – the legislation I signed today is about jobs for the residents of Connecticut, and securing those jobs in our state.” With those words, Nutmeg State Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) affixed his 
signature approving a Mohegan Sun/Foxwoods Resort Casino satellite casino in East Windsor. The financial terms are congruent with the Mohegan’ and Pequots’ current obligation to the state: $1 million upfront and 25% of slot revenues thereafter, plus annual disbursements to Hartford and five suburbs of $750,000 apiece. The bill also sets the precedent of bringing the satellite casino and any others that follow it under the regulatory supervision of the Department of Consumer Protection.
Meanwhile, MGM Resorts International continues to play hardball, promising litigation. While it brandishes a lawsuit in one fist, MGM dangles the offer of a $100 million licensing fee in the other. MGM must be awfully scared of East Windsor’s potential impact on MGM Springfield, even if the latter is favored to get to market first.
* Saturday is going to be a high point in Nevada history. Sales of recreational marijuana are slated to begin, with some 35 dispensaries dotting the Las Vegas Valley. Many of these will begin selling loco weed the instant the clock tips over from Friday to Saturday. Henderson residents wanting to get stoned will have to get behind the wheel or wait until July 1 when ganja sales begin in the mega-suburb. The Las Vegas Sun helpfully has all the details. Given his callous disapproval of even medicinal weed, you can bet you won’t find the information in Sheldon Adelson‘s pet Las Vegas Review-Journal. (I couldn’t anyway.) Maybe a joint or two would get the S.O.B. to chill out for his own good.
* Although they stand to lose business to other states, Nevada bookmakers are cheering on the Supreme Court‘s decision to hear New Jersey‘s challenge to the Bradley Act. “People are already betting on 
sports across the country,” reasoned William Hill CEO Joe Asher. “Nevada will be a big winner when [the ban] is gone because all of the major Nevada casino operators have operations in other states that will benefit.” There was, however, disagreement of how an overturning of the Bradley Act might play out politically. One pundit predicted the Congress would stay on the sidelines and let the states work it out. However, American Gaming Association President Geoff Freeman is already looking past the high court and predicting, “you will see some unlikely congressional allies who realize we’re in a different day than in 1992 when [the Bradley Act] was passed.”
* A federal review of the Mashpee Wampanoags’ land-into-trust transfer is on hold, at the tribe’s request (the Trump administration decision was expected this week), as the Wampanoag turn their focus back to a battle with Taunton and Mashpee residents in federal appeals court. The stakes are high: “Its patchwork of land in Mashpee includes its community and government center, the Old Indian Meeting House and adjacent cemetery and the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian Museum.” Needless to say, this change of strategy probably means First Light Resort & Casino will be delayed yet again.
