Lamont administration demands details on plans to reopen casinos

Officials want more info on health, safety guidelines before Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods open doors June 1

Gov. Ned Lamont is leaning on Connecticut’s two tribalowned casinos to come up with more details as they plan a June 1 opening.

The governor’s consumer protection commissioner gave leaders of the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort casinos a one-day deadline to detail their reopening plans. Lamont says their decision is premature as the coronavirus continues to threaten public health.

Commissioner Michelle Seagull said in a letter Thursday that the casinos are required to cooperate with the state to “assure compliance with the health and safety standards generally imposed by Connecticut law and regulations.” She cited the compact between the tribes and the state that gives exclusive rights to the tribes to operate the casinos.

She asked for a “detailed and comprehensive” account of the tribe’s plan to reopen, including “clear information regarding all facilities” to be reopened.

The tribes also must detail how they intend to protect the health and safety of employees and customers, and public health information the tribes are relying on to support their plans.

The deadline to comply with Seagull’s request was Friday.

Chuck Bunnell, chief of staff for the Mohegan Tribe, said tribal officials will respond to the Department of Consumer Protection, but “offered as early as April to be a resource to the state during this pandemic and have shared our reopening plans with them on multiple occasions.”

Representatives of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lamont has criticized the decision by the casinos to open June 1. The tribes are sovereign and beyond the jurisdiction of state rules. The governor has said he may use his “bully pulpit” to warn visitors of potential hazards visiting the casinos and he raised the possibility of pulling the casinos’ liquor licenses.

The state’s plan for reopening venues that cater to indoor events and large outdoor gatherings is potentially set for late July, giving public health officials more time to assess the decline in the incidence of COVID-19.

The tribes say the casino openings will be limited: restaurants will sell food only for takeout, no concerts are scheduled and no marketing is planned to draw visitors from the Northeast. Extensive cleaning and other preparations also are underway.

Lamont and his advisory group, which drafted plans to gradually reopen businesses shut since March, say the casinos are potentially hazardous for workers and customers, citing their indoor space and attraction to senior citizens who are vulnerable to infection.

The casinos closed in March, the first time they ceased business since launching operations in the 1990s. Thousands of casino workers have been furloughed or laid off, inflicting damage on the economy of southeastern Connecticut. Stephen Singer can be reached at ssinger@courant.com.