One of the largest casinos in the world, Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, is losing ground because of a set of bad wagers. Now with earnings dropping every year, it's just a question of how long the Indian-operated dice joint is able to stay at the table. Foxwoods, run by the Mashantucket Pequots, has the most slot machines of any casino world-wide. But according to the Times "slot revenue fell by 13.5 percent to $709 million in the 2008-9 fiscal year from a high of $820 million in 2004-5. In November, the tribe announced it was paying only $14 million on a $21 million debt payment." In total the betting house is $2 billion in the hole.
But actually, lenders may end up picking up the slack, since Indian-run casinos are exempt from most commercial regulations and unable to use bankruptcy laws. “It’s kind of uncharted territory,” said a lawyer who specializes in Indian gambling issues. “Many of the banks and bondholders should have been aware of these kind of risk factors, but when everything is good, nobody is really looking at the downsides.” It seems like in this case everbody loses. Soon, the state, the banks and the casino may be picking up tickets off the ground.
