But people in both parties say that the tribe has found a quick way to become a player in the game of politics. Democratic officials in the states getting money say they have had no contact with the tribe, and in the states closest to the casino - Rhode Island and Massachusetts - where the tribe would presumably have the keenest interest in influencing debate about gambling, the Pequots and Democrats say there have been no contributions at all. The Republican National Committee has offered no comment on the donations or the tribe. And while some critics grouse that the tribe is only furthering its economic interests as the owner of a huge gambling enterprise, there is little evidence of a Pequot agenda. Clinton held an American Indian summit at the White House in April that was viewed by the Pequots as symbolically significant. Local Democrats helped the tribe gain Federal recognition in the 1980's - an old debt that can now be repaid - and Mr. Lobbyists and lawyers for the tribe say that Democrats have been good to the Pequots, and American Indians generally, and that across a broad spectrum of issues, from health care to education, the tribal council believes that the Clinton Administration is on the right track. What all this means, for the Pequots and the Democrats, is an open question. And with total donations of $315,000 over the last two years, it has become one of the single largest contributors to the Democratic Party's National Committee, joining the ranks of huge corporations like Time Warner and big unions like the National Education Association. It has pledged $250,000 for other state campaigns still to be named. In just the last few months, the tribe - whose roughly 300 members are expected to earn about $600 million from the casino this year - has given $100,000 each to the Democratic Party organizations in New York and California and $50,000 to the state party committee in Iowa, all at the direction of national party leaders. And virtually all of it is going to Democrats.

As the November elections approach, Pequot money is flowing across the country in abundant and increasing amounts, to Albany and Hartford as well as Des Moines and Sacramento. The Mashantucket Pequot Indian tribe, having earned millions from the gambling business at its Foxwoods casino in Connecticut, is investing its profits in a new game: politics.

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