The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
House passes Bridgeport casino bill
Few betting on approval in state Senate
HARTFORD — A bill that could bring a new casino to Bridgeport was approved Friday by the House — but faces an uncertain future in the state Senate.
“This is a jobs bill,” said state Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, at one point during an hourslong debate.
“This is an economic development bill,” Stafstrom said. “This is also a tax-relief bill.”
The bill passed the House by a 77-73 vote and now heads to the Senate, where opposition is waiting, and no one is making solid bets on its passage.
Technically, the legislation directs the state to issue a request for proposals for a new casino somewhere in Connecticut, including Bridgeport. A selected proposal would return to the General Assembly for final approval.
But the bill is clearly directed at Bridgeport, considering MGM Grand has proposed a $700 million seaside resort in the city and a job training center in New Haven. MGM has promised to create 2,000 permanent jobs and 5,000 construction jobs.
The Las Vegas gambling enterprise pledged to more than cover the $250 million a year the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes now pay the state from slot revenue from their casino resorts in southeast Connecticut.
“MGM is willing to invest in one of the most distressed areas in the country,” said state Rep. Chris Rosario, D-Bridgeport. “I think we should listen.”
Unlike most bills, the legislation did not divide lawmakers by party. Instead, it pit legislators from Bridgeport and New Haven against those representing southeastern Connecticut and the East Windsor area, where the tribes already have legislative approval to build a smaller casino to buffer competition from an MGM Grand casino in Springfield, Mass., set to open this summer.
Supporters talked about giving Bridgeport a fair deal to redevelop, while opponents worried about losing slot revenue, and the joint tribal East Windsor venture would suffer financially if another casino is built in the state.
“I’ve never seen a proposal that cannibalizes one part of the state for the sake of another part of the state,” said state Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville.
“The Mohegans and Pequots have a long history in this state and have provided a lot of revenue to the state — $7.5 billion — and we have all benefited from that,” Ryan said.
Future uncertain
Whether the Bridgeport bill can pass the state Senate, which is divided evenly between Republicans and Democrats, is unclear.
At least two Democratic senators, Tim Larson, of East Hartford, and Catherine Osten, of Sprague, support the East Windsor casino and are sure to vote against the so-called Bridgeport bill.
Despite having legislative approval, the East Windsor casino is stalled over a lack of federal approval for changes to the compacts between the state and tribes. Those compacts give the tribes an exclusive right to offer gambling on their reservations.
State Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, said while she is “leaning” against supporting the bill, some GOP senators might vote for the legislation.
“People are all over the place,” Boucher said, referring to the Republican Senate caucus.
“You have people who represent the Mohegan and Foxwoods area and others who are just against gambling,” Boucher said. “Some represent towns at the Massachusetts border. Tolls were easy; we are 18 solid against. But this is not a given.”
Boucher said the Republican caucus — because no one expected the bill to come before the Senate — has not taken a straw poll.
State Sen. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford, predicted passage in the Senate is “questionable.” Leone said he won’t vote for the bill because he does not believe MGM can produce enough revenue to make up for that lost from the tribes.
State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, also said he plans to vote against the casino bill, noting he opposes expansion of gambling.
“I don’t think it gets done,” Hwang said, referring to passage of the bill.
Meanwhile, MGM Grand cheered passage by the House and turned to the next step.
“The state is one step closer to adopting a best-inclass process for possible selection of a commercial casino operator,” said Uri Clinton, MGM senior vice president.
“We look forward to continuing this discussion and supporting the legislation as it continues to move through the legislative process,” Clinton said. Big money
The tribes warned the 25 percent of slot revenue — about $250 million a year — paid to the state in exchange for the exclusive right to operate a casino on their reservations would be withheld if the request for proposals bill becomes law.
“Let’s be clear, the only thing this bill accomplishes is to place in jeopardy nearly $1.4 billion in state tax revenue, $328 million of which is slated to go directly to cities and towns,” said Andrew Doba, a spokesman for the joint tribal venture in East Windsor.
“Any legislator who votes for this bill is going to have to head back to their community and explain why they voted to place millions in funding in jeopardy, funding that helps with providing services and keeping taxes down,” Doba said.
Attorney General George Jepsen has said passage of the bill would not violate the existing compacts with the tribe.
But it’s not clear if approval of a non-tribal casino would violate those compacts, although MGM Grand has promised its Bridgeport resort would more than cover any lost tribal money.
‘Sending a message’
Juan Candelaria, D-New Haven, said the bill is the right thing to do for Bridgeport and New Haven
“We will be sending a message that we believe in a competitive process and an open process and we are against monopolies,” Candelaria said.
But Mary Mushinsky, D-Wallingford, who voted for the original tribal compact 25 years ago, said the two tribes have been good for Connecticut.
“We lost 20,000 defenserelated jobs,” Mushinsky said, recalling layoffs before the first version of Foxwoods opened.
“The casinos opened and rehired all those people,” Mushinsky said.
“They did not lose their homes and kept their health insurance. The Legislature should not break a compact we made 25 years ago.”