Connecticut’s House Speaker said Friday he was trying to throw a “Hail Mary pass” to reach a deal with the state’s two federally recognized tribes on gambling legislation that could include sports betting, internet gambling and a possible casino in Bridgeport.
Democrat Joe Aresimowicz said he has held private meetings with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes, members of the Bridgeport legislative delegation and others in hopes of crafting a complicated bill that might satisfy numerous interests in the final days of the legislative session.
“I was not willing to give up on the idea” of a global gambling bill, said Aresimowicz. “This is like a Hail Mary pass to try to get this to work out.”
Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont had been working for months trying to craft a gambling agreement that didn’t violate the state’s revenue-sharing agreement with the two tribes - who own and operate Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino in southeastern Connecticut - and included new sports betting and internet gambling. In exchange for exclusive rights to certain forms of gambling, the tribes currently provide the state 25% of slot-machine revenues, which amounts to about $270 million annually. The tribes have said they believe their exclusivity rights include sports wagering.
Lamont acknowledged earlier this month he would not be able to reach a deal for this session.
While Aresimowicz said the odds of reaching an agreement are “better today than they were yesterday,” he acknowledged it will still be an uphill battle to pass something in the current session, which ends Wednesday at midnight, or even during an anticipated special legislative session.
Lamont’s spokeswoman, Maribel LaLuz, said the administration was not part of the speaker’s efforts.
“We have not been asked to participate in any negotiations and have no first-hand knowledge of details of any proposal or of any deal,” she said Friday.
Hearst Connecticut Media on Friday was the first to report on the talks arranged by Aresimowicz between Bridgeport officials and the tribes to finally bring a resort casino to the city. The efforts mark a change in strategy for the city’s legislative delegation and Mayor Joe Ganim, who have been pushing for a different bill that would create an open bidding process for a casino, possibly opening the door to MGM Resorts. The casino giant has said it wants to build a $675 million complex on the city’s waterfront.
“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,” Rep. Chris Rosario, D-Bridgeport, who has participated in the negotiations, told Hearst. “The idea of the city of Bridgeport settling for a slot box, or some parlor, that’s out.”
The tribes, in turn, have been focusing much of their efforts on building a jointly run satellite casino in East Windsor to blunt competition from MGM’s new casino in Springfield, Massachusetts. While there’s been a suggestion that the tribes might forgo the East Windsor project, which will likely face legal challenges from MGM, in favor of Bridgeport, a spokesman for the tribal entity MMCT said “there is no ’either/or’ solution” when it comes to the two locations.
“We shouldn’t be playing two Connecticut communities against one another,” said Andrew Doba in a written statement. “In fact, both municipalities can play a critical role in helping us to maximize jobs and revenue for Connecticut. We continue to have conversations with the administration, legislative leaders, the Bridgeport delegation and the mayor on a global solution that will also bring some level of investment in the Park City.”
Doba said the tribes are “hoping to come to a resolution sooner rather than later.”Â
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