East Windsor Delegation Disappointed by Abandoned East Windsor Casino Project

Today, members of the East Windsor delegation including State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor), State Representative Jaime Foster (D-East Windsor), State Representative Carol Hall (R-Enfield) and East Windsor First Selectman Jason E. Bowsza, expressed their disappointment at Thursday’s announcement of an agreement between Connecticut tribes and the Governor’s office that would expand casino play and availability in the state but abandons the planned East Windsor casino project in the process. The delegation expressed their dissatisfaction with what they see as East Windsor being left behind by the state, especially as the decision in question was made without their consultation. Members of the delegation seek a constructive conversation with stakeholders about the rationale that led to this decision.

“This agreement has positive factors for Connecticut, but it’s nothing but bad news for East Windsor,” said Sen. Anwar. “Two years after the East Windsor casino first received approval to move forward, for it to be abandoned is incredibly disappointing. The delegation is especially concerned that these decisions were made without receiving input from any East Windsor stakeholders, especially as the project has already broken ground. We are highly concerned and upset about this turn of events and hope to find a way to discuss the rationale behind these decisions from major stakeholders.”

“East Windsor, Ellington and other surrounding towns in the area will be negatively impacted by this agreement, which holds a prime piece of real estate crucial for economic development ineffective. Further, the prior agreement offered much needed funds to these towns for infrastructure development. I am disappointed by this decision and look forward to meeting with the Governor’s office to address this,” said Rep. Foster.

“The recent decision to eliminate East Windsor as a potential location for a casino is very disappointing and comes at quite a surprise to me and my colleagues,” Rep. Hall said. “From the onset, both the town and state delegation have fully supported its construction and to have the governor’s office choose to eliminate this option without consulting local leaders or the municipal government is puzzling. I look forward to joining my fellow House and Senate representatives and sitting down with governor’s office to try and understand the motivation behind this sudden change in order to determine next steps for bringing a casino to the town.”

“Whatever the benefit of this new deal may be for the state, it is certainly a direct economic loss to the Town of East Windsor,” said Bowsza. “Most troubling is that this deal ties up nearly thirty acres of commercially-developable property located on a major highway and between two highway exits for ten years or more.  This is a real handicap imposed on us by the state, and we certainly hope there will be some meaningful consideration in terms of providing additional, direct state revenue to the Town.”