Casino expansion is the wrong
direction for Connecticut. Danbury is the wrong location for a new casino in
Connecticut. This proposal is a desperate move that offers no long-term
benefits for our state.
Danbury’s economy is better
suited to high technology and financial services expansion. Danbury
consistently has the lowest unemployment rate in the state of Connecticut.
Casino jobs offer no enhancement to western Connecticut’s economy.
New casino expansion in
Connecticut proposed today will give us supermarket-sized casino parlors – not
the same casinos we’re accustomed to at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Our state
doesn’t need casino parlors dotting the landscape.
Slot machine revenues at
Connecticut’s casinos are dropping precipitously due to the poor economy and
new competition in the gambling market. We’ve seen this happen across the
country and state government’s response elsewhere has proven Connecticut’s
expansion proposal is a dead end.
Looking across the country we
can see gambling parlors along interstate highways. These facilities are much
smaller than the casinos within a casino we have in Connecticut. Picture a
supermarket converted to a casino.
Atlantic City overbuilt their
casino market and now they’re closing one after another. The gambling business
is changing dramatically across the country. The Connecticut monopoly in the
northeast is over and this proposal will not change our reality.
Should the Democrat majority
of the Connecticut General Assembly insist on moving forward with this
ill-advised idea then our state must renegotiate the tribal compact. Currently,
state government shares in only a small portion of revenues generated by
Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. This must change.
A new tribal compact must
include state participation in all revenues at casino facilities in our state. Slot
machines generate only 30% of casino revenue and we are currently limited to a
piece of slot revenues. Table games like Poker, Blackjack, Baccarat and Roulette
generate a large share of casino revenues and should be subject to a new
compact. Negotiations for a new compact must include existing facilities at
Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun - not just expansion casino facilities.
A better idea is scrapping
casino expansion in our state. Connecticut should help our two existing casinos
focus on bringing tourists to their destination facilities. Allowing our casino
operators to expand will only further erode their existing business.
