"Finally, there are some hard statistics to prove what many have guessed. The casinos are a tremendous economic engine -- not just in Eastern Connecticut, but in the state.

Together, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino spent almost $700 million in 2006 in Connecticut. Add to that figure salaries and the number jumps to $1.6 billion. This is beyond the hundreds of millions of dollars pumped into state coffers through the Mohegan-Mashantucket Pequot Slot fund.

If you take all the emotion that surrounds most discussion about the casinos' impact on the region away, it is hard to deny they have benefited the state.

The numbers were revealed at the Native American Economic Summit, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut. It was the first comprehensive effort to understand the casinos' impact on the state economy, and it revealed much."

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Our view: Summit shows how important casinos are (The Norwich Bulletin 6/19)