The anatomy of Bridgeport mayor’s tribal casino gamble
BRIDGEPORT — Like others interested in the economic future of Connecticut’s largest city, Joseph McGee was bewildered by last week’s scramble to broker a deal for an Indian-run casino and left wondering what comes next.
“The first thing that struck me is whatever happened to the MGM deal?” McGee, vice president of public policy for the Business Council of Fairfield County, recalled. “Why switch to the tribes? What was the driver?”
In September 2017, Mayor Joe Ganim and other Democratic Bridgeport officials enthusiastically embraced MGM Resorts International’s $675 million vision for an East End gaming and entertainment destination.
They held a ceremonial groundbreaking, though the deal needed to be approved by state lawmakers who for years have been wedded to MGM’s competition — Connecticut’s Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes — when it comes to casino gambling.
Then, in the final days of the General Assembly’s legislative session that ended Wednesday, Ganim and the Indians, behind closed doors, drafted an alternate plan for a more modest gambling facility that created fewer jobs and required $100 million in public investment.
Gov. Ned Lamont, who supports building a casino in Bridgeport and, since taking office in January, attempted to broker a truce between the tribes and MGM, on Wednesday publicly urged the General Assembly not to take up the new proposal.
“The (end-of-session) tribes’ deal seems a little half-baked to me,” Lamont said Thursday. And, he added, it may not come together by the time state legislators return to the Capitol in Hartford this summer for a to-be-scheduled special session on unfinished business.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be ready to go in a special session,” Lamont said.
But Ganim and state Rep. Christopher Rosario, D-Bridgeport, who was also very closely involved in the mayor’s talks with the Mashantuckets and Mohegans, separately insisted their effort produced results and was worthy of further pursuit.
Rosario said Thursday, “Was the document perfect? Absolutely not. Were there lots of issues with it? Absolutely. But being it was a ‘Hail Mary’ attempt, I think it’s a good starting point.”
“There was very positive discussion and progress as to the dynamics of a first-class destination facility in Bridgeport with a significant gaming component,” Ganim said Friday.
Fragile partnerships
McGee said Bridgeport’s economic development strategy focusing on entertainment “is a good one.” But, he added, there were already concerns that MGM’s casino might be too modest, and the Indians’ was even smaller.
“The politics of it is fascinating — that the city shifted its allegiance from MGM to the tribes,” McGee said. “I didn’t know why that happened.”
Looking back over the events of the past year, there appears to be a rationale behind Ganim’s end-of-session attempt to work with the tribes.
MGM’s vision has been mired in complex political and legal battles involving the tribes, which separately operate two casinos in Connecticut’s southeastern section and partnered to build an East Windsor attraction to compete against MGM’s just opened Springfield, Mass., gaming site.
Lamont in January asked the tribes to pursue a joint project in Bridgeport and recently tried to work out an arrangement between the state, the tribes and MGM. State Rep. Jack Hennessy, D-Bridgeport, said Thursday of the latter effort, “We were skeptical of having a positive outcome.”
Meanwhile, Bridgeport lawmakers had begun to question MGM’s commitment to their city based on business moves: The purchase of Empire City Casino in Yonkers; pursuit of a full New York gaming license; and the aborted attempt to purchase Wynn Resorts’ Boston casino.
“They were partners with us, but looking at Plans A, B and C,” Rosario said. “If they do what’s best for them as a company, we’re going to do what’s best for the city, not sit idly by.”
State Rep. Andre Baker, D-Bridgeport, who represents the East End where MGM wanted to break ground, said, “Yonkers was a good deal for them. People were mad . ... When you do stuff like that, people think you’re not interested in coming here.”
Baker said, MGM’s enthusiasm for Bridgeport seemed to have diminished. The company during the 2018 legislative session launched a major lobbying and marketing effort both within the city and at the Capitol in Hartford.