A fierce debate over the expansion of casino gambling in Connecticut began Thursday morning as dozens packed a hearing room at the state Capitol, forcing the public safety committee to open up another room with a television monitor.

Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, testified that Connecticut cannot afford to ignore the expansion of casino gambling in other states, as it has in the past, in both Rhode Island and New York.

"We had no idea of the magnitude of the impact on the Connecticut gaming market," Butler said.

Several committee members challenged Butler and Kevin Brown, chairman of the Mohegan Tribe, on why the state shouldn't seek other proposals to ensure the state get the best deal for the state.

"I'm not sure how to come up with a value of a license without a competitive process," said Rep. Joe Verrengia, D-West Hartford and a committee co-chair. "I feel it is my duty to determine the best value for a gaming license."

Butler pointed the longstanding partnership between the state of Connecticut, the tribes and the southeastern Connecticut casinos.

"We've been in this partnership for 25 years, and we continue under the guise of that partnership," Butler said.

In the audience, some wore red t-shirts with the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation emblem on it. Richard Velky, the chief of the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation is expected to testify later in the hearing, pushing for the bill that would open up possible casino expansion to more proposals. Velky has said the Schaghticokes are interested in developing a casino in southwestern Connecticut.

Others wore neon green t-shirts emblazoned with #CTJobsMatter, the hashtag of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan campaign promoting the casino.

The tribes drew support for its plans from several committee members during the hearing. They pointed out that the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans provided jobs in Connecticut when employment in the defense industry. Now, there is the threat of more job loss in the gaming industry in neighboring states, particularly Springfield.

"I can't imagine what Southeastern Connecticut will look like if we lose more jobs," said rep. Kevin Skulczyck, R-Griswold. "The fact speak for themselves."

East Windsor town officials, which recently signed a development agreement to locate the state's third casino in their town, also are expected to testify. Opponents against the expansion of casino gambling in the state also are in the audience.

The public safety and security committee will hear testimony on two casino expansion bills. One would allow the operators of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun to jointly establish the state's first commercial casino one off a Native American reservation with its preferred site in East Windsor.

The competing bill would open up the expansion process to more operators and proposals that could be compared with what the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans the state's two casino operators are planning.

A Hartford-area gambling venue is aimed at competing with a $950 million casino and entertainment complex now being built by MGM Resorts International in Springfield. Supporters say the casino would help keep gambling dollars in the state, thereby preserving Connecticut jobs tied to the gaming industry and the state's monthly cut of slot revenue.

"The main message has not changed. From the beginning, this has been about protecting Connecticut jobs, Connecticut revenue,'' said Kevin Brown, chairman of the Mohegan Tribe, who spoke before Thursday's hearing began. "The pros outweigh the cons and it's just a way to obfuscate from the fact that if we do nothing in the state of Connecticut we stand to lose upward of 9,000 jobs."

Opponents of the bill, particularly MGM, say the state should consider a full range of proposals and have already challenged in court the state's arrangement with the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans. In 2015, the state gave the tribes the go-ahead to search for a location, but they now must get the legislature's approval to take the step.

MGM has consistently said a casino would be better suited for and more lucrative in southwestern Connecticut and has expressed interest in possibly establishing a casino there. MGM's critics say the casino giant is pushing that option because it would locate the casino away from Springfield.

The "satellite" casino envisioned for East Windsor would be far smaller that either of state's flagship, southeastern Connecticut casinos. At 200,000 square feet roughly the size of a Walmart the East Windsor gambling venue would have 2,000 slot machines and 50 to 150 table games. Half of the complex would be devoted to restaurants, shops and entertainment.

One sticking point in the expansion is the affect on decades-old agreements with the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans that give the state a 25-percent cut of monthly slot revenue, projected to add $267 million to state coffers this year.

The agreements known as the compact provides those payments as long as a casino is not established on private property elsewhere in the state. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and others are raising the question, even if the expansion is by the tribes themselves.

MMCT the partnership of the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans obtained a letter from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, which must approve any changes to the compact, saying the expansion shouldn't pose a problem. But the letter was non-binding and still needs final approval.

Thursday's hearing is expected to draw anti-gambling advocates, including some from East Windsor. East Windsor has signed a development agreement with MMCT but local opponents are still pushing for a non-binding referendum.

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Casino Supporters and Opponents Jam Capitol as Legislature Considers Expanded Gambling - Hartford Courant