Connecticut government officials have denied a local tribal group’s claims of receiving authorization to run the state’s third casino.

On Tuesday, the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation issued a press release saying it had received state blessing “to pursue the development of a commercial casino in Connecticut.” The tribe said it intended to issue a request for proposals to municipalities regarding “the establishment of a possible casino gaming facility.”

On Wednesday, Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill rejected the tribe’s claim, saying the state had mistakenly accepted the tribe’s registration of a limited liability corporation because the application did not flag the fact that the registration would violate the special act the state passed last year authorizing the state’s third casino.

That act said only companies formed by the state’s two existing tribal casino operators – the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes, which respectively run the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort casinos – could form an LLC to pursue a third casino. Merrill said the Schaghticoke application “meets the standard to create an LLC but not the requirements of the special act.”