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12 Hartford Business Journal • September 3, 2018 • www.HartfordBusiness.com COMMUNITY & NONPROFIT EXCELLENCE CLICK HERE TO NOMINATE TODAY WWW.HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM/OUREVENTS Open Nominations until 9/11 Seeking outstanding companies & leaders who have made a signifi cant impact on their community! PRESENTING SPONSOR: EVENT SPONSORS: Also please join us for the event on November 14, 7:30am-9:30am at the Infi nity Hall in Hartford! FOCUS restaurant, which was founded just after the casino's inception in the early 1990s. "That is what we have been do- ing for the last few years — systemati- cally going through the building and freshening up key locations." Many of its 4,000 slot machines get replaced every three years. It's a costly endeavor with each unit having a $15,000 to $20,000 price tag. Final obstacle for E. Windsor casino Meantime, regulatory approval is the last hurdle standing between Fox- woods, Mohegan and history. Connecticut's two tribes are waiting for the final greenlight from regula- tors before breaking ground this fall on a $300 million satellite casino in East Windsor. In June, the town's Planning and Zoning Commission approved devel- opment plans submitted by MMCT Venture LLC, a joint project of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes. This would mark the nation's first joint tribal gaming project. The tribes in 2015 signed a land- mark agreement to launch Connecti- cut's first off-reservation casino as part of a plan to retain a portion of lost revenue from MGM Springfield. With local zoning approval in hand, the tribes still need a nod from the U.S. Department of Interior before construc- tion begins. Federal officials are still ironing out whether the project would harm the state's longtime revenue-shar- ing agreements with the tribal nations. Butler said he expects final project approval soon. He said he's eager to begin the 20-month construction effort, which will replace the demolished former Showcase Cinemas along Route 5. For every month the satellite casino is delayed, Butler said it adds $10 mil- lion to MGM's bottom line. If all goes according to plan, the one-story casino will open in spring 2020, he said. Plans show the venue will include about 1,800 slot machines, 50 table games, 10 poker tables and a five-story parking garage. Sizing the competition Although Butler will be replaced by a permanent CEO this fall, you wouldn't know it. The affable casino executive often stops along his treks through- out the facility to chat with any of the casino's 6,000 employees. The 41-year-old Montville native moved his way up the Foxwoods lad- der by first cutting his teeth as a finan- cial analyst, fresh off his playing days as a defensive back for UConn football. Butler says he has been there long enough to realize that bringing Las Vegas to New England doesn't work. He was there when the Foxwoods-MGM partnership dissolved after just five years in 2013. Foxwoods had leased the MGM Grand brand for its new 32-story, $700 million building, but the partners mutually parted ways. The building was renamed The Fox Tower in a rebranding effort to challenge new competition across the region. The brief partnership, he says, made it clear Connecticut residents prefer traditional, large-scale casino offer- ings vs. the flare of Las Vegas. "Once you see another facility that is a third of the size, or a quarter of the size, you realize it's just a local gam- ing facility and not a destination like Foxwoods," Butler said. Responding to competition A sample of new Foxwoods attractions or renovations since 2010: Year Venue Why it matters Sept., 2018 Monza World Class Karting Largest indoor karting track in U.S. Aug., 2018 Stony Creek Brewery First casino in New England with on-site brewery. July, 2018 Heritage Intl. e-Racing Technology used by NASCAR, Indy- car, Formula One racers. March, 2018 Caputo Trattoria Foxwoods' premiere Italian restau- rant; replaces 20-year-old restaurant. March, 2018 HighFlyer Zipline First casino zipline in New England. April, 2017 Sugar Factory Cafe Foxwoods' most popular restaurant. Nov., 2016 Guy Fieri's Foxwoods Replaced former race book Kitchen + Bar area, sports lounge. May, 2015 Tanger Outlets $120 million project. 2010 Luxury bowling alley, lounge Former 25,000-square-foot ballroom. >> Exclusivity continued