The latest news from Connecticut’s casino brands comes from Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut and MGM Resorts International, who announced that the companies are parting ways. The split puts an end to a licensing agreement allowing the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe-owned Foxwoods Resort Casino to use the MGM name, famed ‘lion head’ branding, and interior design elements throughout the famed MGM Grand, which opened its doors only 5 years ago.

The announcement didn’t come as a huge surprise, as MGM International is placing its bet on an $800 million dollar resort-casino project in Springfield, MA, only 80 miles away from Mashantucket. If the project is supported by the state and awarded the Western Massachusetts bid for a casino, MGM could become a new leading competitor against Foxwoods and nearby Mohegan Sun to control the Northeast casino market share.

According to President and CEO Scott Butera, Foxwoods is making this move to “consolidate our property under the Foxwoods brand… focusing our marketing dollars on one brand as opposed to two.” The move is also connected to a large-scale remodeling project throughout the entire casino complex.

Last month, Foxwoods broke ground on a signature luxury retail outlet mall, Tanger Outlets at Foxwoods, which will connect the Grand Pequot and [soon formerly] MGM Grand towers at the casino. (Read my breakdown on the project and its marketing here and here.)

From a marketing standpoint, this move (though seemingly a nice way of saying “we don’t like you anymore. Foxwoods”) does make sense for both parties. Clearly, MGM cannot allow their iconic brand to be used by what will become their key competitor if their Springfield project gets the green light. And by the same token, Foxwoods cannot align their well-known brand with an emerging competitor.

The MGM licensing deal with Foxwoods, to me, never felt right; it felt forced. A well-established tribal gaming empire in the woods of Eastern Connecticut re-inventing itself with the Vegas stylings of MGM Grand just didn’t make sense to me. I’m glad that the brands have parted ways and that Foxwoods has recommitted to strengthening their brand under one umbrella instead of two.

It will be interesting to see what the casino does with the current MGM Grand casino and hotel. According to the report, the tribe will have six months to transition from the MGM Grand name and branding. Foxwoods has a unique opportunity here to make waves with how they re-brand the space. Does it just become another “Grand [insert Indian name here] Tower,” or will they up their casino portfolio by establishing another sub-brand to distinguish the two very separate areas of the 4.7 million square-foot resort? Only time will tell.

What do you think about the split? Any thoughts on what will eventually rise from the Mashantucket woods?