A federal judge has ruled the state and Mashantucket Pequot tribe can refile their 2017 lawsuit against former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke alleging he blocked a proposed East Windsor casino due to “improper political pressure.”
Zinke, who resigned in December, had been under fire for allegedly lying to federal investigators, in addition to inquiries regarding his refusal to approve amended gaming compacts proposed by the Mashantucket and Mohegan tribes to allow for Connecticut’s first-off reservation casino.
MGM Resorts International, which operates a Springfield casino, had successfully lobbied Zinke to withhold revisions to the state’s revenue-sharing agreements that would have allowed the $300 million East Windsor project, which is meant to offset revenues lost in the northern section of the state.
On Friday, Judge Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled the state and tribe can amend its lawsuit by Friday, Feb. 22, furthering their claim that Zinke was coaxed into blocking Connecticut’s third casino amid a lobbying campaign driven by MGM and Nevada Republican lawmakers.
The pivot by Contreras comes months after he said the state and the Mashantucket Pequots have no legal standing to compel then Secretary Zinke to accept revisions to the state’s long-standing gambling agreement with the tribe, which ensures they pay the state 25 percent of slot revenues in return for exclusive rights to casino gambling.
Mashantucket will now be able to refile claims alleging Zinke gave into political interference, and the Interior Department must explain their decision to block the proposed casino.
In prior court filings, the Pequots and the state had said they received assurances from the Interior Department several times between 2016 and 2017 that the deal would be approved.
“The administrative record or other evidence may ultimately demonstrate that the alleged political pressure did not occur or affect the Secretary’s decision,” Contreras said in his decision. “But at this stage, plaintiffs have plausibly alleged that significant political pressure was brought to bear on the issue and the secretary may have improperly succumbed to such pressure.”
But the legal squabbling in the nation’s Capital may not matter.
Introduced by Sen. Catherine Osten (D-Sprague) and co-sponsored by other southeastern lawmakers, a proposed bill in Connecticut’s legislature aims to bypass the federal government’s role in approving changes to tribal compacts. The measure intends to get the East Windsor casino, billed as Tribal Winds Casino, built and open as soon as possible.
