The tribes have warned that thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in slot machine revenues to the state could be at risk if the border casino was not approved. Mohegan Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown said families of casino workers at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun were “breathing a sigh of relief” that the legislation passed. There are those who support the tribes’ proposal in an effort to protect jobs at their southeastern Connecticut casinos and other lawmakers who want to create an open casino bidding process that could lead to other casino developers possibly building gambling facilities elsewhere in Connecticut.

“I’m glad it’s almost over,” said Democratic House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, who has been working to broker an agreement that could satisfy members of the House. The bill still needs to be approved by the Senate before the session adjourns at midnight Wednesday. It had been crafted at the eleventh-hour to help gain support for the tribal casino bill. The House then approved a companion bill, by a vote of 77-72. Wednesday’s vote came less than 23 hours before the General Assembly was scheduled to adjourn its regular legislative session. The cost of the MGM Resorts property is expected to be around $1 billion. While Malloy has not advocated for a third casino in Connecticut, he has said he preferred the tribal proposal over another bill that would have opened up the process to other casino developers. The bill previously passed the Senate and now heads to Democratic Gov. The House of Representatives voted 103-46 in favor of the bill that allows the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to build a casino in East Windsor to compete with a new MGM Resorts casino in Springfield, Massachusetts. Connecticut lawmakers approved most of a legislative package early Wednesday that could lead to a new tribal casino being built in East Windsor that would compete with a casino being built by Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International. An updated rendering of MGM Resorts International's casino in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Connecticut casino resorts