BRIDGEPORT — The stakes have been raised in the competition to build Connecticut’s first new casino in 20 years, with MGM unveiling plans for a $675 million privately financed waterfront resort in the state’s largest city that the gaming giant is touting as an economic and jobs boon.
The developers of MGM Bridgeport are promising to create at least 2,000 permanent jobs and an annual tax revenue stream of $316 million for the cash-strapped state upon completion of the hotel, casino, shopping center, boardwalk and marina. An economic impact study commissioned by MGM anticipates the creation of another 5,779 ancillary jobs in construction and local business.
At a time when Connecticut is reeling from the loss of General Electric, Aetna and pharmaceutical giant Alexion just last week, MGM is dangling a multitude of incentives to state and city leaders to advance a pet project of its CEO, Bridgeport native Jim Murren. It is seeking to capitalize on Bridgeport’s proximity to New York City, coastal access and spot as a transportation hub.
The political ramifications of MGM’s overture are enormous, reaching from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to a legacy-minded Bridgeport politician with ambitions of succeeding him in next year’s election, Mayor Joe Ganim. Not since Donald Trump competed for casino development rights here in the early 1990s have casino moguls placed such a huge bet on the city.
“The easy analysis here is Bridgeport has 7.3 percent unemployment,” said Uri Clinton, senior vice president and legal counsel for MGM Resorts International. “Bridgeport doesn’t have any private investors knocking on its door asking to be here. The state of Connecticut doesn’t. The state of Connecticut is in a budget battle. So in a state that is having these issues, a development project like this should be easy.”
A 2021 opening date is being eyed by MGM, but for that to happen the Legislature and governor must re-open the approval process for a new casino and likely go back on their deal with the Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation for a casino north of Hartford. The two federally recognized tribes, which operate Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods, have exclusive casino development rights in the state.
MGM , represented by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, unsuccessfully sued the state over what it claims is an unfair monopoly. It has vowed further litigation after its most recent challenge was denied by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City.
“We think that process was unconstitutional,” Clinton said. “We’ll put this project against any other project. This project wins.”
A ground-breaking on the project, planned for a 28-acre spit of land across Steelpointe, home of Bass Pro Shops, is scheduled for Monday with Murren attending. MGM signed a contract with the RCI Group, Steelpointe’s developer, to build the resort.
“This is a real win for everyone in Bridgeport,” said Robert W. Christoph Jr., a principal of RCI Group. “This will be a marquee waterfront development in the Northeast like no other.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Bocce And Buried Highways At Larson's Lovefest
Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District, always brings in heavy hitters for his annual charity bocce tournament in his hometown of East Hartford, which was Friday night.
This year, some of them also stopped off at the state Capitol early in the day to back Larson’s massive Hartford highway tunnel plan. It was a bipartisan lovefest all around. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Penn., made it clear he’s all for big spending when it comes to infrastructure. Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee — a post his father also held — called the Larson plan is a big deal, though one among many. The plan, at least as ambitious as Boston’s Big Dig, would bury Hartford and East Hartford sections of I-84 and I-91 in tunnels, with the main interchange under Colt Park and both highways crossing under the Connecticut River. All of this whis would open up the river and other prime urban property and make way for vast, pedestrian-friendly boulevards.
As Larson sees it, the plan would supersede a $4 billion to $5 billion plan the state Department of Transportation is working on, to rebuild the aging, so-called Aetna Viaduct section of I-84.
There’s no price tag on Larson’s plan. He says everyone is for it -- and in vacuum, there’s nothing not to love. The question is, if it costs, let’s say, $20 billion or more, can a small, broke state persuade a Republican-dominated federal government to pay for it?
“This is an important project but there’s important projects all over the country,” Shuster said, stressing that the northeast coastal corridor accounts for 22 percent of the nation’s economy, and must be decongested. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
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