It looks like Foxwoods has its hands full now even before Massachusetts jumps into the casino market.

My column this week looked the impact casino legalization would have on Foxwoods, which draws more than 30 percent of its gamblers from across the border from Massachusetts.

The Bay State is pushing towards casino legalization, possibly as early as January, even as Foxwoods scrambles to negotiate with lenders over a $2 billion debt load, I noted.

Now it looks like more trouble is brewing for the world’s largest casino on the debt front.

Two days after my column hit the B&T website, the news broke that Foxwoods defaulted on a debt payment. The tribe paid $14.2 million of the $21.1 million owned on one $500 million group of notes.

Standard & Poor’s responded by lowering its rating on Foxwoods’ debt to D, its lowest ranking.

The casino, according to news reports, has insisted the debt issues are separate from the operations of the 7,000 slot casino, which, it contends, won’t be affected.

And while that may sound self serving, there is actually a precedent for this.

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