HARTFORD, Conn. — Gov. Ned Lamont has asked the state's two major casinos to limit gatherings of people to 50 or less during the current heath crisis. At the same time, Mohegan Sun said they are making plans to close.
Lamont said in a tweet: "I am strongly urging our tribal casinos to heed our guidance to prohibit events of more than 50 people. Our casinos have been incredible partners with the state and we need everyone to step up during this public health emergency. This should not be a legal or jurisdictional discussion. It should be a discussion among tribal and state governmental partners in furtherance of public health. We will continue have discussion with our CT tribes."
Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun operate on sovereign land.
Mohegan Sun did not announce a date they would be closing. They announced that during the impending closure, "Mohegan Sun will take the opportunity to focus on cleaning and deferred maintenance. In the interim, Mohegan Sun has decided to take additional actions property-wide which include the temporary closure of the Race Book, Wolf Den, Poker Room, Earth Hotel Tower, Seasons Buffet and novelle as well as the slot machines and vast majority of table games in the Earth section of the casino."
Foxwoods issued a statement:
As a sovereign nation, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation has been in ongoing contact with the Governor’s office on continuous measures to combat the COVID-19 crisis.
From the start of the COVID-19 crisis, our Tribe has taken action to protect the health and wellness of our Team Members, patrons and Tribal Members. We have already closed down various facilities, suspended bus transportation, instituted aggressive and thorough sanitation and cleaning processes, and initiated social distancing. We consider our Team Members and guests as members of our extended family and their safety is paramount in our minds.
As we continue to work with the Governor’s office we anticipate communicating more details by the end of the day.
Casinos in Massachusetts were closed by order of Gov. Charlie Baker on Sunday.
