Kim Isaac Eisler – författare

In the mid-1970s, the Mashantucket Pequot tribe had only one member -- an elderly woman who pleaded with her grandson to come live on the impoverished reservation and save it from falling into government hands upon her death. In Revenge of the Pequots, journalist Kim Isaac Eisler tells the remarkable story of how Richard "Skip" Hayward, then an unemployed ship-worker, granted his grandmother''s dying wish, revived the moribund clan, and transformed the Pequots into the richest and most influential band of Native Americans in history. Established in 1992, Foxwoods Resort and Casino is the world''s most profitable gambling establishment, grossing over $1 billion a year at its sprawling complex in the backwoods of Ledyard, Connecticut. Making use of arcane laws and court decisions never intended to benefit Native Americans as they have, Hayward brilliantly laid the groundwork for this staggering economic empire. In a story rife with drama, he challenged a succession of Connecticut governors and such worthy adversaries as casino moguls Steve Wynn and Donald Trump, while forming alliances with Malaysian industrialist Lim Goh Tong, renegade Seminole chief James Billie, and President Bill Clinton. As a result of Hayward''s strategizing, for one of the few times in history -- and in a truly ironic reversal -- the bizarre legal structure governing Native Americans actually worked to their advantage in a mainstream enterprise. But the Pequots'' meteoric rise to fortune has left many wondering: Is this turnabout fair play? In this riveting rags-to-riches tale, Eisler deftly explores the wide-ranging issues that have framed the great Native American casino debate and the ramifications of the Native American casino boom in a nation still uneasy about its roots.

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.