Developer on outside looking in at prospective casino deal
BRIDGEPORT — As the behind-the-scenes machinations to build an Indian gaming casino in Bridgeport continued Friday at the Capitol in Hartford, Bob Christoph Jr. admired his development firm’s newly opened seafood establishment and marina on the city’s harbor.
“I have boats pulling up, people at the restaurant,” Christoph said. “It’s exciting. People are having a great time and enjoying the waterfront. This is going to be transformational for the city.”
Nearly two years ago, in September 2017, Christoph, his father and their Miamibased RCI Group announced another transformational project — a partnership with MGM Resorts International for a $675 million harborfront casino, hotel and entertainment complex.
Christoph claimed to have been unaware of Friday’s end-of-legislative-session scramble by Mayor Joe Ganim and Bridgeport state lawmakers to instead bring a smaller casino to town, run by MGM’s gaming competitors, Connecticut’s Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes.
“I know nothing about it besides what I read in your paper,” Christoph said, adding, “I’m not consulted on anything the city or state delegation does.”
He reiterated that RCI still has a deal with MGM.
“We’re under contract,” Christoph said, declining to provide an expiration date.
One of the big unknowns of any arrangement with the Indian tribes would be the impact on or involvement of the Christophs and RCI, because of MGM and because of the prime stretch of East Side and East End waterfront acreage they own with easy highway access.
The developer has slowly but surely been breaking ground on the East Side’s long-dormant Steelepointe Harbor, bringing anchor tenant outdoor giant Bass Pro Shops to the city in 2015, along with Bridgeport’s first Starbucks coffee, a Chipotle restaurant and, most recently, the marina and Boca Oyster Bar.
MGM coveted RCI’s East End parcel, a short distance away, also along the harbor. Christoph maintained Friday that his company’s land offers the best site for a casino.
But MGM’s proposal has been mired in legislative and legal battles stemming from a decades-old deal the state has that limits the right to build casinos to the Mashantuckets and Mohegans. The tribes operate, respectively, the Foxwoods and Mohegan gambling destinations in the southeastern part of Connecticut.
MGM has been calling for state lawmakers to authorize an open bidding process in Bridgeport — something Christoph reiterated Friday.
“It would be great if an entertainment destination of the right size — not just a bingo hall or slots hall — comes to Bridgeport,” Christoph said. “And if there was an open bidding process, that would be fantastic.”
He added, “I don’t now of any tribal land in Bridgeport at the moment” where the Indians could easily build.
“There’s been no discussion about a location,” Ganim claimed Friday. “I don’t know if anybody has said we should do location A or location B.”
Asked what a possible deal with the Mashantuckets and Mohegans would mean for the Christophs and their land pact with MGM, Ganim said, “I don’t know.”
The mayor said he has never seen RCI’s contract with MGM.
Christoph said he did not begrudge city officials for talking with the Indians and believes those officials have “Bridgeporters’ best interests at heart.”
“At the end of the day, having the right entertainment destination is the right thing for Bridgeport,” Christoph said. “Of course, we’d love it to be on our property, and think we have the best property.”
Christoph also insisted that, should a casino never be built on his East End land, the acreage will not remain fallow.
“We will develop the property and put it into a use,” he said.