Revenge of the Pequots: How a Small Native American Tribe Created the World's Most Profitable Casino

By Kim Isaac Eisler

Book Overview

The Mashantucket Pequots have had a long and proud history, enduring for centuries even after colonists and historians believed them to have been exterminated by the British in 1637. By the early 1970s, however, the legacy of their generations rested on the shoulders of a single elderly woman, upon whose death the Pequots' reservation would fall into government hands. Her grandson, Richard "Skip" Hayward, and other relatives responded to her pleas and kept alive the tribe and its land by coming to live on the reservation. Journalist Kim Isaac Eisler tells in riveting detail how Hayward and others skillfully manipulated laws, court decisions, and political connections to permit the Mashantucket Pequots to found the Foxwoods Resort and Casino in 1992. Located in Ledyard, Connecticut, Foxwoods today is arguably the world's most profitable casino complex, grossing over one billion dollars annually. The Mashantucket Pequots have become staggeringly rich, their tribal membership has swelled, and they are now an influential force in national politics. Their triumph has not been without controversy: Eisler also examines the volatile issue of racial identity among the Pequots and looks at the negative impact of Foxwoods on those who also make their home in the Connecticut woods. Kim Isaac Eisler, a former staff writer for American Lawyer, is the national editor of Washingtonian magazine.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803267452
• ISBN13: 9780803267459
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Bison
• Length: 267 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

I Wish

This is the book I wish I had written -- but I never would have spent the time and effort on research that the writer did. As a Ledyard-based reporter in the early 1970s, I knew about that part of town referred to as the Indian Reservation, and I'd heard of the only old lady who lived there in a trailer, and her occasional grandchildren. Trouble is, in four years I never had the slightest inclination to write about her or the land or the story behind either. Nonetheless, as the casino developed, I was pleased that someone was beating city hall. In painstaking detail the author tells how it happened, including a good bit of history. It's a serious book, not just a compilation of gossip. An interesting part of Americana. But as Ledyard today tries to deal with all the traffic and tourists, I can't help but remember the hundreds of meetings I sat through where the town fathers agonized over how to attract visitors and to expand the town's economic base. The leader of the Historical Society was sure that restoring the vertical saw mill would do draw crowds. He never could have imagined that the answer could have been found in that trailer on that reservation at the far end of town!

Funny, ironic, fascinating

I always wondered how Foxwoods came to be. Now I know thanks to this witty and ironic account, which the Boston Globe says is far more accurate and attentive to the facts than the other book on the topic. Also contains a lot of good insight into gambling, why people gamble, and unlike a lot of non fiction, it doesnt bog you down. Great book!

Legal-Political Saga of Developing Special Interest Edges

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" could be the subtitle for this book. Native Americans suffered in military, social, and bureaucratic maneuvering versus the European settlers and later the United States. In the 1970s, the strategy altered to seeking advantages as another special interest group. That approach benefited from poorly drafted laws, politicans' need for campaign funds, and a bad conscience among politicians to create unexpected and unequaled success for the formerly impoverished handful of Connecticut-based Mashantucket Pequots. The resulting gaming empire of Foxwoods (from the one-time name of "Fox people" for the Pequots) now wields far more power than the tribe ever had in its entire history. This story reveals a great deal about the nature of modern American politics and law that shows the need for broad reform at every level of government. The weakness of this book is that it takes on the Pequots almost as a special case, rather than as a more typical example of the system we have now. The book is also overly detailed for the interests of most readers, and does not make very entertaining reading except for those who are fascinated by legal and political intrigue from an academic perspective. The author revels in the irony of President Clinton courting the Pequots for funds and political support in 1994. Historically, it had been the other way around with U.S. presidents and tribal chiefs. In 1994, tribal chairman Richard "Skip" Haywood personally donated $500,000 to the Democrats for the congressional campaigns. After he and the president spoke by telephone, other members of the tribe donated an additional $800,000 to the Democrats that year. After the Republicans won the election, a further almost $200,000 went to the Republicans. But this is just what any other special interest or business does all of the time. The wealth of Foxwoods made it possible for the Pequots to have a large seat at the negotiating table. Casinos were bound to come someday to New England. Legalizing gaming has been sweeping the country, often led to state lotteries. Cash-strapped state and local governments are always looking for new sources of funds. So the fact that these casinos ended up being owned by Native-American tribes is probably the only surprise to most people.If you are like me, you have read some of the details of how this happened, but have never seen it all woven together. I was very impressed by the legal innovation of attorney Tom Tureen and the entrepreneurship of ex-chairman Haywood. The work of either one could be the subject of an interesting leadership case history.The full vision of ex-chairman Haywood is mind-boggling. He worked on bringing a professional football team into the tribe, building a theme park, and tried to establish a bullet train to the casino among other ventures.I hope someone will also write a business-oriented history of the same events to add more of that dimension to this story. The less