Great Moments in Government Waste: Tax Dollars for a Wealthy Casino

Here's another taxpayer ripoff story. Some of the so-called stimulus money was used to subsidize a casino that rakes in $1.3 billion every year. Something to keep in mind the next time a politician tells you that there's no waste in the budget and we need to raise taxes:

With the support of Sen. Chris Dodd, D.-Conn., the federal government has awarded $54 million to Connecticut's politically well-connected Mohegan Indian tribe, which operates one of the highest grossing casinos in the U.S. The tribe runs the sprawling Mohegan Sun casino, halfway between New York City and Boston, which earned more than $1.3 billion in gross revenues in 2009. ...Lynn Malerba, chairwoman of the Mohegan Tribal Council, defended the award of the stimulus loan to the tribe, and said that every member of Connecticut's seven-member Congressional delegation except one had provided assistance in securing the funds. "The whole Connecticut delegation, I think aside from [Rep.] Jim Himes, who was traveling, sent a letter in support." Bryan DeAngelis, communications director for Sen. Dodd, confirmed Dodd's support for the loan. "Senator Dodd supported this project in the same manner and for the same reasons he supports federal assistance for other Connecticut projects – creating and preserving local jobs," said DeAngelis. "The only factor that mattered in Dodd's support of these loans was job creation and economic recovery in Connecticut." A former aide to Dodd, Charles Bunnell, is Chief of Staff for External and Governmental Affairs for the tribe.