MGM Resorts announced last week that Uri Clinton, who has long been the face of MGM when presenting that company’s positions in Connecticut has been named president and chief operating officer of the Empire City Casino, the Yonkers, N.Y., which MGM has committed to purchasing for $850 million.
However, Connecticut won’t notice any change, since Clinton will continue to represent the gaming giant’s interests in the state.
Bill Hornbuckle, MGM president, said in a statement: “Uri’s proven leadership and wide range of skills have been instrumental in the Company’s development efforts in New York and Connecticut, and he will continue to build on those successes with this new role.”
Clinton has been MGM’s senior vice president and legal counsel since 2016. He is a familiar face in the halls of state government, having lobbied lawmakers on the Bridgeport proposal as well as that of opening the state up to commercial casino bids.
Andrew Doba, spokesman for MMCT Venture, the joint tribal gaming authority, took a pot shot at Clinton’s appointment. “MGM, led by Mr. Clinton, spent millions of dollars trying to convince legislators they were interested in building a casino in Connecticut and all the while they were in the process of acquiring this property in Yonkers. That Mr. Clinton is going to run it is fitting and speaks volumes about how serious people should take their claims going forward,” he said.
