Two sets of finalists for a third Connecticut casino emerged late Friday: the proposals from East Windsor and Windsor Locks.
MMCT Venture, the organization led by the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes that hopes to open the third casino, said these proposed projects would advance to the next phase of the site selection process.
As a result, projects that were proposed in East Hartford, Hartford and South Windsor are no longer under consideration, the tribes said. Mohegan Tribal Council Chairman Kevin Brown said that despite these towns not being selected, they will benefit from whichever final project emerges as a regional draw.
In East Windsor, the town is proposing development of an entertainment and gaming venue on 55 acres off I-91 near exits 44 and 45. Showcase Cinema went out of business there, but 40 acres are buildable and the site is zoned commercial.
In Windsor Locks, Sportech had resubmitted its plans for development of its existing OTB campus next to Bradley International Airport. President Ted Taylor has said the Sportech project would provide “a strategic placement that is next to the airport, near the highway, and positioned to compete against MGM,” which is coming online in Springfield, Mass., in the fall of 2018. Other sites being considered were not immediately available.
Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council Chairman Rodney Butler said the decisions on finalists were based on a “detailed economic analysis,” and that the selected finalists’ proposals would “align best with our development models and preserve more jobs and revenue for the state.” That economic analysis was not immediately available.
The tribes said they are working with town officials in both municipalities to set up local forums to discuss the issue with the local community. More details about those meetings will be released in the coming weeks.
Connecticut could lose as much as $68.3 million a year in revenue starting in fiscal 2019, once MGM Springfield casino opens, according to an estimate from the state’s Office of Fiscal Analysis released in October.
In a statement released late Friday, Alan Feldman, executive vice president, MGM Resorts International, continued to call the Connecticut selection process “a sham.”
“This is not the right way for a state to enter into its first commercial casino,” Feldman said in an email. “The right way is what we’ve been suggesting all along: the state should scrap the current law and adopt a new one that guarantees a fair, open, transparent, and most important, a competitive process. One that allows all qualified bidders to compete.”
On Monday, Feldman called for the tribes to make their detailed economic analysis public.
In an emailed response, MMCT Venture Spokesman Andrew Doba said: “MGM wants nothing more than to distract from the only single point that really matters – if MGM wins, Connecticut loses. It’s that simple. Like anyone who is looking to invest hundreds of millions of their own money, the tribes considered a number of factors, including what effect the sites would have on their existing businesses. Their goal is to make sure that the eventual location creates as much benefit as possible for the state, and limits the jobs that will be lost.”
Clarification: There are several sites making it as finalists in Windsor Locks but a complete list is not yet available.
