Welcome to the flip side?

The Mashtanucket Pequots are offering buyouts of tribal government employees. Oh, and if the smoking ban at the casinos goes through, the head of the Mohegan tribe said there will be layoffs at Mohegan Sun when visitor numbers dip.

I wonder if there are any casino workers looking to snag one of those hundreds of jobs Electric Boat is creating?

Craigslist sex ads and the casinos

I'm not sure how it works in the other Connecticut, but here on our side of the state, the gals (and it is mostly gals) offering "erotic services" through Craigslist often mention one of two places: the casinos or Groton.

Doesn't take an Electric Boat engineer to figure out why — both areas have highly transient populations. And, with the idea of escape so heavily promoted by the casinos, why not step outside of the ordinary?

Now, I didn't grow up in eastern Connecticut so I don't remember the pre-casino days, but I'm going to venture a guess the world's oldest profession wasn't nearly as widespread in the past....

Commercial casino plan backing out of Bay State?

With Gov. Deval Patrick publicly admitting his casino proposal probably won't succeed, Connecticut is in the position to win and lose.

Already, recent months have seen a slowing in slot machine play. Casino execs say it's the price of gas, the downturn in the economy and increased competition from slot parlors in Yonkers and Rhode Island. Casinos in Massachusetts would bring thousands more no-arm bandits (mostly buttons these days, right?) into a market that could become supersaturated overnight.

But the Mohegans have already shopped a proposed casino in Palmer, Mass., and the Mashantucket Pequots have admitted to looking at various properties in the past. As the last annual report from the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority showed, having Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs just outside of Wilkes-Baree, Pa., really helped shore up a disastrous December here in Connecticut. Diversification isn't just a hope anymore, based on the tribes' plans, it is more of a necessity.

And the rocket's red glare.....

I think it goes without saying Roseanne Barr (or me with my unending creaky, croaky throat) need not apply....

UNCASVILLE, Conn. —The Connecticut Sun will hold auditions Monday for local singers who would like to perform the national anthem prior to home games at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Auditions will be held at the Mohegan Sun Arena from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Candidates will be asked to sing the national anthem, a cappella, in 90 seconds or less before a panel of judges.

Candidates must provide a current resume as well as a recorded version of the national anthem on CD. All participants will be required to sign a release prior to auditioning. Any candidate younger than 18 is required to have the signature of a parent or legal guardian. Registration for auditions will begin at 5 p.m., and all candidates may enter the Mohegan Sun Arena at the box office entrance.

To pre-register or for more information, call 862.4000.

UAW vote can stand

Word has just come from Hartford that the November table game dealer vote at Foxwoods Resort Casino should stand and be certified, allowing about 2,600 dealers to organize under the United Auto Workers.

Watch this space....

You asked, I delivered

As a lot of you probably already know, the story comment section is back and I've been trying to keep up with what folks are saying and thinking about some of these casino issues.

Someone pointed out that the poll I posted yesterday didn't have a "let smoking continue" or "leave it alone" option. Well, it does now.

Go to it. And thanks for reading.

This just in from Hartford.....

Connecticut can legally extend the smoking ban to the state's two tribally owned casinos, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said this afternoon in an opinion.

In an eight-page opinion, he said the sovereignty of the Mashantucket Pequots, who own and operate Foxwoods Resort Casino, and the Mohegans, who own and operate Mohegan Sun, will not be affected since the tribes have already agreed in compacts with the state "to adopt public health standards at least as rigorours as the State's public health laws."

Blumenthal said the tribes' non-compliance with a smoking ban in all areas of the casino governed by Connecticut liquor licenses could lead the state to revoke the permits.

But, in his eight-page opinion, he urged all groups to discuss the issue, rather than rely on legislation.

"As a matter of comity and respect, we suggest that the Tribes and the State seek an agreement to implement the ban — thereby advancing the health interests of tribal and non-tribal patrons and employees of the casinos alike, without the need for enforcement litigation," Blumenthal wrote.

On the rack in the other, other Connecticut

Anyone who knows where to buy Forbes magazine in Norwich, do share.

The waiting room

The legislative office building in Hartford is a heck of a lot like an international airport.

My destination — Friday's hearing on a proposal to ban smoking in Connecticut's casinos was held — was shared by a couple dozen Foxwoods Resort Casino dealers clad in yellow United Auto Worker T-shirts, a handful of casino representatives and an ever-growing number of expert witnesses, at least one of whom had just jetted in from the Washington, D.C.-area. We waited in the main lobby, noshed on breakfast and then lunch in the cafeteria and wandered in and out of the hearing room, checking the agenda like one would check a departures screen.

But, like waiting at an airport, it was nearly impossible not to overhear the plans of others. Instead of talking about trips to Istanbul or Iceland, various witnesses reviewed pending testimony on such issues as election-day voter registration and who should have the right to commit someone suffering from mental illness.

I also managed to drop in, unknowingly, on a hearing discussing giving tax breaks to living organ donors to help offset the cost of them having to take time off of work to recuperate. It was a moment — although less life-changing than when a near-stranger offered her kidney to a co-worker's husband a few years ago — of what a friend and fellow writer likes to call synchronicity.

Call it fate, good fortune, a lucky break or just life (for all you sarcastic pessimists out there), but Danny Gasparino most likely won't need dialysis for another decade thanks to the spontaneous generosity of Marci Pignataro. If you missed their story in last week's Bulletin, here's where to find it:

www.norwichbulletin.com/homepage/x1638943317

And an update:

www.norwichbulletin.com/homepage/x1529764129