Gambling news from http://www.connpost.com/
The increasingly feisty spat between the state of Connecticut and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is now heading for the courts. That's because Gov. M. Jodi Rell has asked state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to go to court over the matter, which stem
compact, Foxwoods is required to pay the state 25 percent of all slot machine revenue. But, according to the state, the slot coupons create a loophole for the casinos that shortchanges the state. The casino does not count the amount of the coupon as reve
Article Launched:10/22/2006 05:06:59 AM EDT
The coupons range from anywhere from $5 to sometimes as much as $1,000 in free play.
That amounts to $350,000 of lost revenue for the state of Connecticut, according to Blumenthal. And that figure is merely from one month of lost funds from the coupons. If left unchallenged, Blumenthal says the promotion could eventually shortchange state taxpayers millions and even hundreds of millions of dollars.
Rell authorized Blumenthal to take the matter to court, and the Mashantuckets have agreed to waive their sovereign immunity and allow a state court to settle the dispute.
If nothing else, the court proceedings will prove to be a healthy public reexamination of the state's compact with the Mashantuckets.
It's reassuring that both Blumenthal — who first raised concerns over the free coupons — and Rell are extremely proactive over the upholding of the agreements reached between the state and the Indian casinos.
The money that comes from both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos makes up a sizeable portion of the state's budget, much of it distributed in municipal aid.
That money represents tangible benefits for state citizens. If some of that money is siphoned away, intentionally or not, there must be reparations.
|
|
