Give all casino bidders a fair shake

The issue: With yet another question raised about the feasibility of building a third Native-American casino in East Windsor, it’s even more prudent for the state Legislature to establish an open competition for the right to build one in Bridgeport.

State Attorney General George Jepsen’s advisory opinion that the East Windsor proposal stands on shaky ground makes the case even more compelling.

Jepsen’s case is based on the fact that the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs has not given its imprimatur to the East Windsor plan, a joint venture of Connecticut’s Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, operators, respectively of Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun casinos.

As we have stated repeatedly, if there is to be a third casino in Connecticut, it should be in Bridgeport, the state’s largest city and the most geographically logical location — some 50 miles from the potential audience of New York City.

MGM Resorts International has proposed a $650 million destination resort, with a casino, for a choice waterfront location ringed by Interstate 95 and at the nexus of rail, ferry and air service. There simply is not a more sensible and attractive spot for such a project anywhere else in Connecticut.

Among obstacles to the project is a 25-year-old arrangement that gave the two federally recognized tribes exclusive right to run casinos in exchange for 25 percent of the take from their slot machines.

It’s safe to say that much has changed in 25 years — including the banked-on bonanza of the slot revenue — and this agreement needs review.

We are not enthusiastic proponents of gambling as the way out of Connecticut’s fiscal woes. But we recognize that gaming is here to stay.

There is a subtext to all this handwringing over the red tape involving a third casino: fairness.

Why should any legitimate business — be it a casino, a manufacturer, a construction company, a paper-clip supplier — be summarily precluded from offering a proposal for consideration?

What we wrote: For argument’s sake, let’s say the MGM Resorts International proposal for a casino and entertainment center in Bridgeport is not such a great idea.

It’s pitched as a $650 million — all private money — extravaganza that will create 2,000 jobs and spawn another 5,000, shoot a one-time $50 million license fee into the arm of a gasping state budget, along with an estimated $300 million state gaming tax beginning in 2019.

Let’s say that creating a worldclass tourist destination in the state’s largest city and an employment training center in New Haven, the state’s second city, is of dubious worth.

Let’s say that a plan for a tribal satellite casino in an empty Showcase Cinemas in East Windsor, (pop. 11,162) and home to the Connecticut Trolley Museum, is far more advantageous to the economic fortunes of Connecticut. Nevertheless, why does the MGM plan not even get a look by the elected representatives of the people of Connecticut? Editorial, Sept. 18, 2017 The time to give all interested parties a fair shake is now.

There is a subtext to all this handwringing over the red tape involving a third casino: fairness.