Mashantucket Pequots Ante Up With Landmark Venture in Puerto Rico
Escaping to one of Connecticut’s tribal-owned casinos has been a tradition for countless state residents over the last nearly three decades. By the end of the year, the Mashantucket Pequots are betting some of their audience will take advantage of walking out the casino door onto 15 acres of beach fronting warm turquoise waters – in Puerto Rico’s capital city.
Called Foxwoods El San Juan Casino, the planned venture announced Tuesday is a partnership between the LionGrove hospitality-investment firm and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, operators of the Foxwoods casino in Ledyard. The tribe plans to add a 15,000 square foot gaming and entertainment facility as part of the $137 million renovation of the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel, a landmark that required extensive reconstruction after Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Mashantucket Tribal Chairman Rodney Butler joined an array of officials including the island’s governor for a news conference at the hotel unveiling the project. Butler said the expansion, the tribe’s first outside the U.S. mainland, will present new opportunities not only for the casino and its patrons, but for Puerto Rico’s economy.
Business at Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun casino has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced temporary closures last spring and has gutted revenues due to decreased attendance.
Read more: https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2021/01/26/mashantucket-pequots-ante-up-with-landmark-venture-in-puerto-rico/