Casino news source: Hartford Courant - http://www.courant.com
Pequots Deny Plan For Casino In Atlantic City
February 15, 2007
By MARK PETERS, Courant Staff Writer
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is discussing the development of a new casino on the waterfront in Atlantic City, according to a report in a New Jersey newspaper, but the tribe said Wednesday it has no current plans to develop the site.
The Press of Atlantic City reported Wednesday that the tribe, which owns the Foxwoods Resort Casino near Ledyard, is considering developing a casino on a 14-acre site next to the Trump Marina Hotel Casino as part of its partnership with MGM Mirage.
However, tribal spokesman Bruce MacDonald said the tribe is not currently considering a project at the site with MGM, which owns it.
The partnership has indicated interest in Atlantic City, but has not revealed any plans.
Gordon Absher, an MGM Mirage spokesman, said Wednesday that the company's focus in Atlantic City right now is on 70 acres it owns next to the Borgata, a mega-casino it developed with Boyd Gaming. MGM would develop the project independently, Absher said.
"Atlantic City is certainly a viable option," Absher said. "Las Vegas is another location that might have high interest. But at this point, we are still in the study-and-analysis phase."
Absher said the MGM-Foxwoods partnership has so far announced only its joint expansion project at the Connecticut casino. The $700 million expansion at the Foxwoods casino is scheduled to open in the spring of 2008.
MGM Mirage and the Pequots announced their partnership last year to develop projects in Connecticut and elsewhere. MGM Mirage is one of the largest casino companies in the world, and its properties in Las Vegas include the MGM Grand, Bellagio and New York-New York.
The agreement sets up the framework for additional projects. The tribe and MGM will collaborate on planning and developing future attractions at and around the Mashantucket Pequot reservation near Ledyard.
In addition, MGM has said the partnership establishes a jointly owned company, Unity Gaming, to buy or build gambling and non-gambling projects around the United States and abroad. MGM is providing a $200 million loan to Unity as part of the partnership.
The Press of Atlantic City cited an April 2006 memorandum of agreement that says MGM would contribute the 14-acre site in Atlantic City as part of a development with the tribe.
MacDonald, the tribal spokesman, said the draft agreement mentions the land as an example of the type of site that MGM and the tribe could develop together.
But he said the agreement has since changed and that a final agreement was reached in December. That agreement has not been released publicly.
Foxwoods has also entered into a partnership with a group in Philadelphia to build a casino on that city's waterfront.
It's also working with the Pauma Band of Mission Indians in California to build a casino outside San Diego. |
|
World Casino Directory 
Gambling Forums 
