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Connecticut Legislators Move to Ban Vegas Style Games

"Prohibiting new casino gambling, they say, would outmaneuver as many as five Indian groups who hope to learn over the next 18 months whether they can negotiate to open casinos here. Tribal leaders call the legislation anti-Indian and a backlash against the success of the Mohegans and Mashantucket Pequot tribes.

"Other flourishing varieties of gambling - the state lottery, Off Track Betting and the two existing Indian casino complexes - which combine to contribute over $600 million in revenues to the state, would not be prohibited. The proposed ban would target only so-called games of chance or `Las Vegas nights,' with an eye toward shutting down options for new Indian casinos.

"…But Mashantucket Pequot Chairman Kenneth Reels, whose tribe runs Foxwoods Resort Casino, called the proposed legislation little more than `an attack on Indians.'

"…`This is sneaky, and it is underhanded,' said Reels, who has joined other tribes in lobbying against the Las Vegas nights ban. `There is a federal law that says tribes have a right to negotiate for gaming.'

"…Nell Jessup Newton, dean of the University of Connecticut School of Law, said applying gambling laws selectively - and only banning one form of gambling - would raise significant problems. If the state allows gambling for two federally recognized tribes, it would have a hard time denying that right to other tribes that win federal acknowledgement, she said…"

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