At the end there simply wasn’t enough time to hammer together a deal between the Connecticut legislature, governor and the gaming tribes for the tribes to transfer their interest from a casino in East Windsor to the state’s largest city: Bridgeport.
A spokesman for Governor Ned Lamont played a dirge over the failed proposal: “This 11th-hour proposal has not been fully vetted or reviewed, and with only one day until the end of session, it’s not in the public’s best interest to take up this matter.” It added, “Instead of resolving outstanding litigation, it puts the state at increased and immediate litigation risk from multiple parties.”
The proposed bill included the wording of an amendment from Senator Dennis Bradley, who represents Bridgeport that had been attached to a casino expansion bill that has been on the Senate calendar since April.
The tribes had been in negotiations with the mayor of Bridgeport, and legislators like Bradley, but not with Governor Ned Lamont, who decided to sit this one out after four months of negotiations with the tribes failed to achieve a solution.
The big winner in this failure seems to be MGM Resorts International, which has been fishing off the gaming tribes’ wharf, doing its all to sabotage their schemes, and with a fair amount of success, ever since the tribes first floated the idea several years ago of a satellite casino to help them blunt the effects of the opening of the MGM Springfield.
But the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes are left in the same position they were before: working on opening their $300 million satellite Tribal Winds casino in East Windsor. That casino is planned for 100,000 square feet of gambling space at the former Showcase Cinema site off Interstate 91. The cinema building is demolished. The tribes have federal go-aheads and are starting to get permits from the city.
The plan that went into play in the very last day of the legislative session would have turned the tables on MGM, which had introduced the proposal for a $675 million commercial casino in Bridgeport two years ago. This plan would have required the state to jettison the tribal state gaming compacts, losing all the 25 percent of slots revenues the tribes pay for their Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos. Last year that was $240 million. MGM argued that the state would more than make up for that by the taxes it would realize from a casino able to tap the New York market. Yonkers, for example, is 54 miles away.
Instead of the large MGM proposal, the tribes would have been allowed to build a smaller $350 million Bridgeport casino, with 2,000 slots, 100 table games, a 500-room hotel with a spa, dining and shops. The tribes would also have gotten $100 million in state subsidies, and the exclusive right to offer sports betting. They would have kept their authorization for the East Windsor casino and added the right to offer three “entertainment zone” venues offering sports books in three other towns.
But the tribes scotched the idea that they would give up East Windsor for Bridgeport. Andrew Doba, spokesman for MMCT, the joint development arm of the tribes, said in a statement: “There is no ‘either/or’ solution when it comes to East Windsor and Bridgeport, and we shouldn’t be playing two Connecticut communities against each other.” Doba added, “In fact, both municipalities can play a critical role in helping us to maximize jobs and revenue for Connecticut. We continue to have conversations with the administration, legislative leaders, the Bridgeport delegation and the mayor on a global solution that will also bring some level of investment in the Park City.”
Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim said this week he still hopes that a special legislative session this summer will reopen the issue. His administration has worked with MGM, who proposal promised 7,000 jobs for his city’s residents. Nevertheless he appeared willing for a smaller gain, hundreds and possibly thousands of jobs from the smaller tribal casino. He met with tribal leaders several times in the last two weeks.
Another Bridgeport lawmaker who participated in the talks, Rep. Chris Rosario, said before the proposal collapsed, “We’re trying to find a happy medium that is good for the state, good for the tribal nations and good for the city of Bridgeport The idea of the city of Bridgeport settling for a slot box, or some parlor, that’s out.”
The last-minute proposal would have undoubtedly led to a spoiler lawsuit by MGM, which hasn’t hesitated to use any legal or legislative tool at hand to foil the tribes. Other entities that want a piece of the sports betting pie would probably also have sued.
Sportstech, one of those stakeholders, argued for its inclusion in any deal. Richard McGuire, executive chairman of Sportech, declared last week “Sports betting delivered by both Sportech and the tribes would provide a competitive environment to thwart the illegal market competition, benefit the State and provide choice and protection for consumers.” He left hanging the threat of litigation: “However, we remain vigilant to any actions that seek to create an unfair advantage for others to the detriment to our 400 Connecticut employees.”
MGM’s position has been consistent for years: the state must have an open bidding process for a casino.
Governor Lamont has tried for several months to reach a plan that would include everyone, including MGM. However the tribes refuse to abandon the East Windsor casino, which is 14 miles from Springfield.
They also refuse to give up their insistence that exclusive rights to offer sports betting is guaranteed to by their existing tribal state gaming compacts that does give them exclusive rights to Las Vegas style casino games. However sports betting has rarely been included in the definition of what constitutes Class III gaming.
Lamont’s communications director issued this statement: “This administration has invested more than four months attempting to negotiate a fair, equitable and impactful deal for all parties involved in this matter, including Bridgeport.” She added. “At the start of those negotiations, the governor stressed the critical importance of an agreement which removed litigation, strengthened the partnership with the tribes and grows Connecticut’s gaming economy.”
The tribes say the governor is too worried about lawsuits, which they consider to be the cost of doing business no matter what business you happen to be in.
MGM has said it is poised to sue the state over violating its constitutional rights under the commercial and equal protection clauses.
Before the bill finally died, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz had been doubtful about its chances, at least for now. “As it’s written, I think it would be difficult to cobble the votes together,” said the Speaker. “But is it an excellent starting point for negotiations and maybe some clarifications? Yeah, I think a lot of work went into it. Having the tribes and Bridgeport on the same page is very important. They haven’t got there until now, so if this is the starting point, I think it’s a good starting point.”
He had added, “This is like a hail Mary pass to try to get this to work out.”
MGM, for its part, had very little to say during the last days of the session, other than to issue this statement: “Conversations and proposals are certainly very fluid in the final days of the legislative session.” It added, “We continue to track developments closely.”
Commenting on the process that he temporarily stepped away from last week, Governor Lamont told Greenwich Time, “I didn’t want gambling, sports betting, i-gambling to get stuck in the legal mud between MGM and the tribes,” Lamont explained Friday. “I wanted something that would be legally facile and we could get this thing going. And number two I did want to see something done down in Bridgeport.”
