3/5/18-East Windsor, CT-The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes operating jointly as MMCT held a ceremonial ground breaking for a casino Monday at the site of the former Showcase Cinemas in East Windsor. Speaking is Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council (Dave Roback / The Republican)
EAST WINDSOR, Connecticut -- Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun have released artist renderings for their proposed East Windsor casino.
The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes that operate Connecticut's two existing casinos hope to build the gaming facility on Interstate 91 just 13 miles south of Springfield, in hopes of intercepting Connecticut customers on their way north to the $960 million MGM Springfield resort casino.
The East Windsor casino, at the site of a former Showcase Cinemas, will be built on 14-acres of recently cleared land squeezed between Interstate 91 at Exits 45 and 44 and busy Route 5. Construction could begin by the end of the year.
Mohegan and Foxwoods say the East Windsor casino would be a $300-400 million project, featuring 100,000 square feet.
In June, the tribes won long-awaited permission from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The tribes say the East Windsor casino would create 4,300 jobs both directly and indirectly. The tribes have promised to hire 650 Hartford-area residents.
From the town, the tribes still need planning and zoning approval as well as a wetlands construction permit.