Pequot Nation
Steinberg, Sharon (ssteinberg@rc.com)
Tue, 26 Sep 1995 09:57:00 PDT
Last week, Vic wondered where the Mashantucket Pequots were going to get the
money to open another casino in Bridgeport. Vic, Foxwood's casino, the
Pequot's gambling/resort/spa/mecca near the reservation in Ledyard, CT, is a
multi-million-dollar extravaganza place. I went to Schemitzun (the tribe's
annual nation-wide dance/drum contest extraordinaire) last weekend and saw
the casino for the first time: it's as big as a castle, has turquoise-tinted
windows that, when the sun comes out, looks like an enormous jewel, and,
according to the newspaper, one month this season on slot machines alone, the
casino grossed $30 million...... It's a beautiful, well-run place. The
decision on who will build the Bridgeport casino evidently hasn't been made
yet, but the tribe gives the state of Connecticut over a hundred million
dollars a year as a contribution, because, since it's on Indian land, it pays
no taxes......... The Mashantucket Pequot story is an amazing one.....
Peace. Sharon