The Impact of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Operations on Connecticut

On November 28, 2000, the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at the University of Connecticut released a study entitled, "The Economic Impact of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Operations on Connecticut." This study found that the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation "has become an economic growth marvel for the State and the immediate region."

The study documents the incredibly positive impacts of the Mashatucket Pequot Tribal Nation (MPTN) operations on Connecticut. Here are the study’s major findings:

• Since opening in 1992, the Nation has created almost 13,000 jobs and played a leading role in revitalizing the southeastern Connecticut economy after large defense spending cutbacks.
• The Nation has raised real gross state product (GSP) by $1.2 billion dollars on average, with New London County capturing $800 million in GRP.
• The Nation has added $1.9 billion to the State’s aggregate personal income, with New London county capturing $1.1 billion in of this personal income.
• The Nation has increased total (direct, indirect, and induced) employment statewide by 41, 363 jobs.
• The Nation’s enterprises have sustained positive residential property values in nearby towns during a period when substantial cutbacks in employment in New London County occurred.
• Seventy-three percent of the visitors to Foxwoods Resort Casino come from other states, whose spending is a net new to the region. This spending stimulates the expansion of the lodging and restaurant business in the area
• Nation enterprises have provided millions of dollars in property tax money to the three local towns.
• The Nation has assumed a leadership role in welfare reform, including lifting families out of poverty through training and employment through its Work ETC Program.
• The Nation has passed on revenues from slot operations to the state that topped $1 billion in January 2000. These revenues are distributed to the 169 towns in Connecticut.
• The Nation has developed high-speed ferry operations that connect New London with Glen Cove, NY and Martha’s Vineyard and will intersect the nation’s first high-speed train, the Acela, in New London.
• The Nation has built a $193 million Native American Museum that is a leading cultural attraction in the area.
• Over 80% of employees of the MPTN live in the towns of Ledyard, Preston and North Stonington.
• The development of the Foxwoods Resort Casino and other MPTN operations in New London County dampened the recession in employment and housing prices in the early 1990s and contributed substantially to the economic rebound of the region through the decade, including a positive return to housing investment.

Context for these Profound Impacts

The context for these positive impacts in southeastern Connecticut makes them even more profound. In 1992, before the opening of the Foxwoods Resort Casino, Eastern Connecticut was primarily a rural area with low economic activity with the exception of two or three major pockets of industry, including the defense industry. The needs of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal members- the State’s poorest group, according to the 1990 census- were persistently ignored by the State government. In the early 1990’s, the region faced a crisis with a contraction in the defense industry, as well as a downsizing in general manufacturing. From 1988 to 1993, the region lost approximately 10,000 jobs, including nearly 4800 manufacturing jobs. The opening of the Nation’s Foxwoods Resort Casino brought in thousands of much-needed jobs to the region and contributed substantially to the economic rebound of the region through the decade.

In summary, this study provides substantial evidence of the profoundly positive impacts of the MPTN Enterprises on the local, regional and state economy.

Please click here for a PDF version of the study (right click to download, left click to view).

Written by Kate Spilde, Ph.D. December, 2000