New Proposal Would Bring Casino To Bridgeport

BRIDGEPORT, CT — Bridgeport city officials and the state’s two Native American tribes are closing in on a deal that would bring a casino to the Park City.

Members of the Bridgeport legislative delegation put forth a draft bill that could lead to a tribe-owned casino.

House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said the conversation regarding a Bridgeport casino is the furthest it has ever gotten, but much work still has to be done before it becomes a reality. He said working with the tribes on a Bridgeport casino is the safest route to maintain the compact with the state.

The compact sends a portion of slot revenue from Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos to state coffers. The compact sent more than $263 million to the state in 2018. Slot revenue for the state peaked around 2006. In that year the state received more than $433 million.

Getting a big casino bill passed by the end of the legislative session Wednesday is unlikely as is it getting done in a potential special session, Aresimowicz said.

“This is like a Hail Mary pass to try and get this to work out,” he said.

The upside is that conversations regarding a Bridgeport casino are the furthest they have ever gotten.

A Bridgeport casino like the East Windsor casino would likely come under the spectre of a lawsuit from MGM, which pitched a $675 million waterfront project. MGM said it would build a 100,000 square foot casino area, a 900-foot dock and 1,200-seats worth of dining options.

Officials expect that MGM will file a lawsuit once the East Windsor casino is under construction.

“They are going to sue in my opinion no matter what, they have a casino in Springfield that they want business to come to,” Aresimowicz said.

The draft bill would also give tribes exclusive rights to sports gambling in-person and online in Connecticut, according to the Connecticut Post. That could open up a lawsuit from off-track betting company Sportech.

Sportstech Executive Chairman Richard McGuire said he was encouraged by comments from Aresimowicz and Majority Leader Matt Ritter that suggested a combination between the tribes and Sportech for legalized sport betting in Connecticut.

"Sportech remains a good partner of the State, part of the Connecticut gaming solution and engaged in a process to deliver the optimal solution for the State," he said. "However, we remain vigilant to any actions that seek to create an unfair advantage for others to the detriment to our 400 Connecticut employees.”

A Bridgeport casino would be a partnership between the city and the tribes with the state going forward with plans to build a new train station, Aresimowicz said. He said the state wouldn’t put money toward building the casino.

Earlier this year Gov. Ned Lamont tried to work out a deal that would allow the tribes to build a Bridgeport casino and have sports betting rights in exchange for a scaled back or abandonment of the planned East Windsor casino, according to the CT Mirror. Lamont said the efforts failed and he didn’t see a major gambling bill getting done this legislative session. Likewise, former Gov. Dannel Malloy also tried to work out a solution to the states gambling laws. Aresimowicz said it was neither administration’s direct fault that a solution wasn’t found.

“I was not willing to give on the idea,” Aresimowicz said. “So I asked the participants to come back in and have conversation to see if we can get anything going. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”