MGM loses another round in Connecticut casino case

MGM Resorts International lost another round Wednesday in a court fight aimed at giving it leverage against Native American tribes in Connecticut as they compete for casino customers.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan agreed that a Connecticut judge was right to dismiss MGM’S lawsuit against the state.

MGM Resorts claimed it was placed at a competitive disadvantage after Connecticut created a special registration pathway for the state’s two federally recognized tribes to build casinos on non-tribal land.

The appeals court called MGM’S fears speculative, noting that the developer of casinos and other commercial gambling enterprises has no specific plans to develop a casino in Connecticut. It also said it agreed with the lower court, which concluded that legislation that helps construction plans by tribes does not prevent other bidders from entering Connecticut’s casino market.

In a statement, MGM Resorts legal counsel Uri Clinton said company officials remained “undeterred in our goal of having the opportunity to compete in Connecticut.”

The 2nd Circuit said the dispute might be ripe for court review once the company can show that the harm it alleged was “sufficiently imminent.” Until then, it said, any disadvantage MGM might suffer in future contract negotiations was “purely speculative.”