Hitting the Jackpot: The Inside Story of the Richest Indian Tribe in History [Hardcover]

Brett Duval Fromson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2003

In 1637, Puritan settlers in Connecticut were at war with the Pequot Indians. In retaliation for a Pequot raid, Captain John Mason led an assembled militia of English and Indian allies in an attack on a Pequot fort that left over four hundred Pequots dead. Within two years, the Pequot tribe was all but extinguished. It would remain that way for the next 350 years. In 1973, the last remaining descendant of the Pequots to live on the tribal reservation, Elizabeth George Plouffe, passed away, but not before imparting the advice to her grandson Richard "Skip" Haywood: "Hold on to the land." These words would instigate a thirty-year legal and political drama that would lead Hayward and his relatives to re-create the Pequot tribe and become the richest Indians in history. Hitting the Jackpot uncovers a labyrinthine tale of legal maneuverings, back-room political dealings, and ethnic reinvention. Fromson details the process by which today's Pequots gained tribal recognition, hired top lawyers to claim thousands of acres of land, gained the right to open a $1.2 billion-a-year operation, and distilled the barest traces of Pequot lineage into a full-fledged tribe with over six hundred tribal members.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This brief chronicle details the machinations that brought the first casino to Connecticut and enormous wealth to a downtrodden Indian tribe. The Pequot Indians were near oblivion when one Pequot, Skip Hayward, a failed clam-shack owner with nothing left to lose, returned to the Ledyard, Conn., reservation to revive the tribe. With the help of shrewd pro bono lawyers, Hayward successfully landed federal assistance for Pequot reservation housing, but his biggest coup came when lawyers for the Pequots were able to settle a federal land claim suit that legitimized them as a tribe, allowing them to skirt a federal vetting process. This paved the way for the Pequots, situated perfectly between New York and Boston, to open a profitable bingo hall. They then expertly crafted and won a brilliant legal argument for a casino and, with the help of Malaysian investors, opened Foxwoods, Connecticut's first casino, in 1992. Amazingly, in little over a decade the tribe went from a few impoverished members to running a casino that grossed $158-million, with a $51-million profit, in its first year. Naturally, there were some problems: racial discord grew within the tribe as their numbers swelled to over 600, and competing casinos later cut into Foxwoods' success. Fromson, a journalist with TheStreet.com, has written a reliable account of the Pequots' financial ascent, though his brisk narrative often reads too much like an expanded newspaper story and is short on insight. Still, he ably captures the social, political and legal processes expertly finessed by the Pequots in making Foxwoods a reality.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Brett Fromson was chief markets writer for TheStreet.com. Previously, he covered Wall Street and finance for The Washington Post and Fortune magazine. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Monthly.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; 1 edition (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871139049
• ISBN-13: 978-0871139047
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,457,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't pass this book up!, September 15, 2003

By 

"colleenmoconnor" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hitting the Jackpot: The Inside Story of the Richest Indian Tribe in History (Hardcover)

I was 80 pages into this book the first time I picked it up. And I don't even like gambling! While seemingly a factual account of the creation of the Foxwoods casino, Fromson's book is also superb America story. It opens with a historic battle -- very interesting -- and Fromson cleverly utilizes the sordid legal trail this is America's relationship with its indigenous people, as a way to trace how Foxwoods came to be. In fact, what is ultimately a story behind the best payoff in history -- nearly vanished Conn.-based Indian tribe cashes in to the tune of billions -- is also a document that testifies to social and cultural issues. While it is a must read for those interested in gambling, it is absolutely a must read for lawyers (due to the superb tracing of Foxwood's legal right to exist) as well those interested in American history and Native Americans. I'd advise college professors to give the book a whirl in the classroom. Given Fromson's financial writing background, this book is best describe as being in the genre of Michael Lewis (Liar's Poker/Moneyball). Factual history made interesting thanks to superb storytelling skills from the author.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding Book, February 24, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Hitting the Jackpot: The Inside Story of the Richest Indian Tribe in History (Hardcover)

"Hitting The Jackpot" is not just a great read but a real eye-opener about the reality of some Indian tribes. I had no idea that tribes like the Pequots existed -- most tribal members with 1/64th to 1/128th Pequot blood at best and no living culture! This book is a real corrective to the sterotypical perception of tribes today. I just read it and urge everyone --Indian and non-Indian -- who cares about gambling and tribes to pick up a copy.

Since I live in Connecticut -- I first heard Fromson on Colin McEnroe's radio show on WTIC -- and subscribe to The Hartford Courant, I read the absurd attack on the book by the head lobbyist from the Indian casino tribes that someone from Oklahoma -- most likely another Indian casino lobbyist -- has posted on this site. Well, here's what the author said in reply in last Saturday's Courant. I thought it explained really well the real agenda behind the casino lobby's attack on this work of investigative journalism.

Here's what the author wrote in reply in The Courant last Saturday:

I am the author of "Hitting The Jackpot: The Inside Story of the Richest Indian Tribe in History," which tells the remarkable story of the reinvention of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the creation of Foxwoods casino.

My book is the first to take readers inside a casino tribe, show the gritty reality of such groups and reveal how they are created.

Based on exclusive interviews with tribal members, confidential documents and interviews with key governmental and tribal advisers and leaders, "Hitting The Jackpot" raises serious questions about the proliferation of casino tribes with massive gambling operations in urban and suburban America.

"Hitting The Jackpot" has received uniformly favorable reviews from the mainstream press, including The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The Courant.

Why, then, is an attack on my book published as an op-ed in this newspaper by Ernest L. Stevens Jr., chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association in Washington and a member of the Oneida Indian tribe [Feb. 15, "Resilient Pequots Should Be Applauded, Not Criticized"]?

Stevens does not question a single fact in my book, yet he calls it "a vicious and racist attack on American Indian identity in the 21st century." Nothing could be further from the truth.

As one Pequot tribal leader wrote me in a letter dated Dec. 5, 2003, "Thanks for your honesty and effort with this book."

A second Pequot, the matriarch of another tribal family, telephoned to say how much she appreciated the book and to thank me for "telling the truth."

In truth, the Indian gambling lobby attack stems from the attention my book has attracted wherever Indian casinos are popping up.

That is unacceptable to lobbyists like Stevens, who are paid to protect these lucrative gambling franchises.

Such people try to pre-empt debate by cynically playing the race card.

They seek to impugn the motives of anyone independently investigating casino tribes, Indian gambling and the social costs imposed on the public.

They do not want to be held accountable. They do not want the citizenry to be better informed about this special interest and how it often works contrary to the public interest.

Brett D. Fromson, Salisbury

Nuff said!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow...You'll never look at them the same., October 7, 2003

By 

"hankpotter" (Norwich, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hitting the Jackpot: The Inside Story of the Richest Indian Tribe in History (Hardcover)

As a local and semi-frequent guest to Foxwoods I had to read this book. I couldn't put it down. Fromson realy makes you feel the emotion that is evoked from this true life account of the rise of the Mashantuckets from their near extinction. You feel excited for Skip when he wins (with great luck I might add) all of the legal battles, and you feel anger at how the "minority majority" handled their new wealth. I can definately say that I have a new outlook on the Mashantuckets...this book draws you in, makes you want to know more. Well written, and a must read for anyone who lives in CT (especially SE CT) or has heard of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.