| Majority opposes new casinos but support growing poll finds |
Most residents of lower Fairfield County oppose an expansion of tribal casino gambling. But a poll conducted earlier this year by Greenwich Time/The Advocate found that 39 percent of the citizens in those towns support a tribal casino in Danbury, while 36 percent support the creation of such a facility in Bridgeport.
A majority of residents are firmly opposed to any new casinos in Connecticut, said Mayor Dannel Malloy of Stamford.
"There is no doubt that this part of the state is overwhelmingly against casinos," he said. And "if you mention the word traffic in a question about casinos support dries up."
The recent survey of area residents found more than half the respondents oppose any expansion of casinos, but found more support than past polls. For instance 63 percent of the residents of Stamford, Norwalk, Darien, New Canaan and Greenwich opposed a casino in Bridgeport according to a 2002 poll by Greenwich Time/The Advocate.
The impact of a Bridgeport casino on Interstate 95 traffic has been exaggerated by opponents, said Chief Quiet Hawk of the Golden Hill Paugussett tribe, also known as Aurelius Piper Jr.
"My view has been that the opposition to it has been overstated. It is entertainment and bringing an entertainment complex into Fairfield County would allow anyone . . . to enjoy it," Piper said.
"You will have an increase in traffic. There is no doubt about it," Piper said. But the increase will not be drastic, or crippling, in large part because those going to a casino will drive there when commuter traffic is least, he said.
Although the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs has denied the Paugussett's petition for sovereignty, Piper said he still hopes the Bridgeport-based tribe's case will be won on appeal.
"I believe that we have made our case, as we always believed," he said.
A second tribe, the Schagh-ticoke Tribal Nation of Kent, has been approved by the BIA. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is appealing the recognition saying the BIA used erroneous marriage statistics in its research.
The Schaghticokes have not said where they would to build a casino if they gain final recognition, but they are backed by Subway Restaurants founder Fred DeLuca, and speculation has focused on Danbury and Bridgeport as possible gambling locations for the tribe.
Danbury Mayor Mark Bough-ton said it is simple to explain why residents of Stamford, Norwalk and Greenwich are more supportive of a Danbury casino than one in Bridgeport. Proximity and the potential increase in traffic on Interstate 95 probably account for it, he said.
The city's own polling found that close to 75 percent of Danbury residents oppose a casino there, Boughton said.
"People are trying to push the casino north because they don't want it on the I-95 corridor," Boughton said. "What I think we should be sure of is that we don't want a casino at all. The danger is that we are rapidly approaching a point where we will have three or four tribes in Connecticut that will control our economics, our political life . . . and almost every aspect of life in Connecticut. They are the 800-pound gorilla."
Opponents of building more casinos in Connecticut said the survey results may have been influenced by residents' belief that casino gambling is important to the state's economic well-being.
Nearly half of the residents of the three towns believe casino gambling is important to Connecticut's economy. Only 15 percent thought jobs and revenue from gambling was very important to the state.
Joseph McGee, vice president of public policy for the Business Council of Southwestern Conn-ecticut, formerly known as SACIA, opposes an expansion of casinos.
But the two existing casinos, Foxwoods in Ledyard, owned by the Mashantucket Pequots, and Mohegan Sun in Montville, owned by the Mohegan tribe, are important sources of jobs and revenue for the state.
The two casinos put about $400 million annually into the state's coffers.
"A lot of them are very low wage, but they are jobs with benefits," McGee said. "It does play a major role in the state's economy."
Source: Greenwich Time
Friday, 31 December 2004
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