By Arthur Henick
The setting was a modern conference room at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. - about a 90-minute drive from the reservation.
The time was a weeknight evening.
The topic was a hot one: casinos in Connecticut and possibly in Massachusetts one day.
The characters were familiar to a small, select group of news junkies up on Indian gaming.
And the news was that the state, represented by longtime tribal critic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, actually agreed on several positive impacts of tribal gaming with an employee of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Bruce MacDonald.
The March 11 event was called "The Big Gamble: The Costs, Benefits and Coverage of Casinos" and it was co-sponsored by the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling (CCPG) and the New England News Forum.
Here's what went down:
Blumenthal went ahead of MacDonald and said that many things worked well in the tribal-state relationship, including the two-government gaming agreement.
"The ongoing relationship has been a smooth one," Blumenthal said. In addition, he said, the state's biggest fear back in 1992 when Foxwoods opened - that a casino would attract organized crime -- has not materialized.
Then MacDonald spoke and discussed the museum on the reservations, the Tribal Nation's charitable contributions through the years including $3 million to the CCPG, and the economic impact of the Foxwoods resort, including new jobs associated with the opening of the MGM Grand at Foxwoods on May 17.
"In the midst of an economy sailing into rough waters, we are putting 3,000 people to work," MacDonald said of MGM Grand hiring.
Then Blumenthal responded that he visits the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center with his family and they all enjoy it. He himself is also at Foxwoods "every couple of weeks," speaking at dinners put on by non-profits and other groups. And, he said, there is no denying the positive economic impact of tribal casinos
That all amounted to one of the strongest endorsements of reservation offerings in many months by a state official.
(c) Copyright Pequot Times, April 2008. All rights reserved.
2008
Framed against the sky, the lone tree on a knoll represents
Mashantucket, the "much-wooded land" where the Pequots hunted and
kept alive their identity as an independent people. Displayed on the
knoll is the sign of Robin Cassasinnamon, the Pequot’s first leader
following the 1637 massacre at Mystic Fort. The fox stands as a
reminder that the Pequots are known as "the fox people."
Pequot basketweave pattern.
A gift from the Winged Ones, feathers
carry prayers to the Great Spirit.