Connecticut’s two tribal gaming operators insist they’re committed to their joint venture casino project, which finally has a brand name, if not a launch date.

This week, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes offered state legislators an update on their plans to build a $300m joint venture casino near East Windsor on the state’s northern border with Massachusetts. The tribes also revealed that the venue will operate under the Tribal Winds name.

The tribes say their MMCT Venture has spent $14m to date preparing the ground on which Tribal Winds hopes to rise and they say the venue could open within 18-24 months of them getting the okay to commence construction. But ongoing uncertainty regarding federal regulatory approval and other legal challenges continue to plague the project.

The two tribes make no secret of who they blame for their inability to commence work on the project: (a) the federal government’s Department of the Interior, which the tribes accuse of improperly withholding its approval, and (b) commercial casino operator MGM Resorts, who the tribes claim engaged in “heavy lobbying” of the DOI aimed at protecting its new MGM Springfield casino just across the border from East Windsor.