Tribes, Bridgeport near $350 million casino deal
Development could usurp MGM Resorts plan for harbor
HARTFORD — The city of Bridgeport and Connecticut’s two Native American tribes are close to a deal that would deliver a casino resort worth at least $350 million, a development that could unseat MGM Resorts International’s larger plan for Bridgeport harbor.
Mayor Joe Ganim, legislators and the tribes held several meetings Thursday to negotiate a deal. Those conversations are ongoing, but a preliminary proposal drafted by the city, and conversations with people involved in the talks, point to a midsize casino and large hotel resort.
The plan would need approval from the state House and Senate and governor to move forward — which could happen early next week. No location is named in a draft of the legislation, but the parties are discussing several sites, sources said.
This latest foray marks a new milestone in Bridgeport’s decadeslong effort to host a casino, a history that included a developer in the early 1990s by the name of Donald J. Trump. Although the tribes’ plan would be much smaller than the $675 million MGM proposal on the harbor, it appears more likely to win approval in the General Assembly — where the tribes’ supporters have fought MGM vociferously for years.
“We’re trying to find a happy medium that is good for the state, good for the tribal nations and good for the city of Bridgeport,” said Rep. Chris Rosario, D-Bridgeport, who has participated in the negotiations. “The idea of the city of Bridgeport settling for a slot box, or some parlor, that’s out.”
A casino deal between Bridgeport and the tribes represents a shift for the city’s legislative delegation, who for years have
The plan would need approval from the state House and Senate and governor to move forward — which could happen early next week.
maintained that they support an open, competitive bidding process to bring a new casino to the state’s largest city.
MGM has said all along it only wants the right to compete for a license. But that plan has been blocked for the last several years by supporters of the tribes. The agreement with the tribes, by contrast, would grant the license without competition. That would preserve the state’s compact with the tribes, under which the state receives 25 percent of slot machine revenue, or about $240 million this year.
It’s unclear what payments the tribes would make to the state under the new deal. MMCT, a joint venture of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, which own Foxwoods Resort and Mohegan Sun casinos, respectively, did not issue a comment Thursday night.
MGM, which has a contract to build its casino resort with the master developer of the harbor, including Steel Point, declined to comment Thursday night.
The bill would require the casino resort to be “fully operational” within 42 months of passage by the General Assembly. If that deadline isn’t met, there would be an open-bidding process.
The tribes would construct a Bridgeport casino with a minimum of 2,000 slot machines, 100 gaming tables, a 500-room hotel, with a spa, restaurants and retail space, according to a working draft of the enabling legislation drafted shared with Hearst Connecticut Media.
Any deal between the city and tribes faces enormous obstacles beyond approval at the state Capitol, where the legislative session ends next Wednesday.
MGM would be likely to file a lawsuit claiming its rights were violated. It is also unclear how large a gambling facility the tribes could finance in Bridgeport. Their revenues from Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have declined recently and they have investments planned in a joint East Windsor casino venture.
Legislation would need the signature of Gov. Ned Lamont, who has not participated in negotiations over the past week after his own gambling deal fell apart.
In that sweeping effort, Lamont tried to persuade the tribes to drop the East Windsor plan in exchange for a license in Bridgeport. MGM would agree to walk away under thart scenario, and sports betting would be shared between the tribes, the Connecticut Lottery Corp. and Sportech, a New Haven-based maker of gaming technology that operates 16 off-track betting locations in Connecticut.
The tribes refused to agree to drop the East Windsor plan and refused to share sports betting activities with the other companies, claiming an exclusive right. It’s unclear how and whether the latest deal would affect sports betting.