A bill that would establish competitive bidding for a third casino in Connecticut drew sharp criticism Thursday from two senators who were prominent supporters of a plan already in place for a casino in East Windsor.
State lawmakers last year backed the first expansion of casino gaming off a tribal reservation, giving the operators of Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun the go-ahead to jointly establish a satellite casino in East Windsor.
“If this proposal proceeds — which I doubt it will — I will vehemently oppose it,” Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, said. “Connecticut is already on track to open a new tribal casino in East Windsor that will protect existing casino jobs in the state and grow new jobs, which will help our economy, and that progress shouldn’t be derailed.”
The impetus for the East Windsor “satellite” gambling venue was to compete with MGM Resorts International’s new $960 million casino and entertainment venue set to open in September. The casino, its supporters said, would preserve the state’s monthly cut of slot revenue and jobs tied to the state’s gambling industry.
MGM was a forceful critic of the approach, arguing that competitive bidding would bring Connecticut the best economic deal. MGM’s critics said the gambling giant was just trying to protect its interests in Springfield and had no real interest in bringing a casino to Connecticut. MGM then unveiled plans last fall for a casino on the Bridgeport waterfront.
“This proposal is just another attempt by MGM to wave snake oil in front of legislators, and it comes after a year of thoughtful deliberation in which legislators and advocates painstakingly describe the need to preserve existing casino jobs in eastern Connecticut,” said Sen. Tim Larson, D-East Hartford and co-chairman of the legislature’s public safety and security committee, which oversees gaming.
Construction has not yet begun in East Windsor. The Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans, the state’s casino operators, say they will begin demolishing a vacant movie theater on the site in the first three months of this year but have not committed to a timetable for actual construction.
The tribes hit a roadblock because it has not received definitive approval from the U.S. Department of the Interior and the matter is now in the courts.
Rep. Chris Rosario, D-Bridgeport, a member of the Bridgeport-New Haven delegation behind the competitive bidding bill, said Thursday the lack of progress in East Windsor opened the door to the bill.
Rosario maintained that he is not “anti-tribe.” He says he is just trying to do the best for constituents in Bridgeport, where there is now a proposal on the table.
The bill calls for a two-year process, first seeking bids and then making a selection.
If the legislature allows a casino operator other than the tribes into Connecticut, it would violate agreements with the tribes that brought more than $250 million in slot revenue payments to the state last year.
MGM argues the agreements are 25 years old and should be revisited with competitive bidding to determine which would provide the state with the best fiscal benefit. In addition, they say, casino competition in neighboring states has eroded those payments.
MGM Thursday disputed warnings from Larson and Osten that the competitive bidding would violate the revenue-sharing agreements with the tribes.
MGM also noted that the tribes have expressed an interest in Bridgeport, but they have said it is separate from East Windsor, which they continue to pursue.
“The proposed legislation creates the necessary process for the state to compare the tribes’ Bridgeport proposal to MGM’s proposal for a world-class resort casino in Bridgeport based on 7,000 total jobs, $675 million in private investment, and millions of dollars in up-front payments to the state,” Uri Clinton, senior vice president and legal counsel at MGM Resorts, said.
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