"Stories about tribal spending have been legendary over the years, from the reported million-dollar-plus salaries for tribal councilors and six-figure annual stipends for tribal members to ridiculously high numbers of assistants assigned to government leaders. Local mayors and first selectmen have often joked about which of the tribal chairman's dozen to 15 assistants to call when they've had a question.

But now the tribe is streamlining operations in an effort to remain solvent. In the letter to the approximate 900 tribal employees outlining the buyout, it stated: " ... these changes are absolutely necessary to sustain tribal government."

Things must be pretty bad at Mashantucket. And it makes you wonder, how good are things at the tribe's main enterprise: Foxwoods? That's the business that funds tribal government, and all indications are that the picture isn't so cheerful.

The latest slot machine numbers, a routine indicator of casino performance, show a year-over-year decline for March of 12 percent, or $8.3 million, in revenues. February wasn't much better, when revenues dipped by 7 percent from the year before. And in December, when Foxwoods sponsored a disastrous "free play" slot promotion, the annual win plummeted by 17 percent.

Maybe the golden goose of gambling isn't so golden anymore."

Get the Story:
Ann Baldelli: Tough Times Or Bad Choices For The Tribe? (The New London Day 4/20)
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