MGM Resorts International has fired another shot in the border war to block development of a casino in Connecticut that would be a direct competitor to the $950 million casino the company is building in Springfield, Massachusetts.
A new ad released online this week attacks the Connecticut Airport Authority for a proposed casino at Bradley International Airport, just 20 miles from downtown Springfield.
The ad asserts the airport casino is a " bad deal" that will " scam" taxpayers.
MGM obtained the airport casino proposal earlier this month through a freedom of information request. The airport authority said the plan to develop a casino along with a $250 million transportation center was abandoned in June, but said other airport casino locations could still be in play.
The operators of Connecticut’s two casinos in the southeastern part of the state, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, have joined forces to pursue a possible satellite casino in the Hartford area. No site has been selected.
Before a third casino could be built, the tribes need approvals from the Connecticut legislature and governor.
The attack ad is MGM’s latest effort to derail possible competition. The Las Vegas-based entertainment giant has waged a legal fight in federal court and lobbied at the Connecticut State Capitol and in the halls of Congress.
Clyde Barrow, Chairman of the Political Science Department at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, who is a casino industry expert, said it is not surprising the lengths to which MGM has gone to thwart would-be competition to the Springfield casino.
" In ( MGM's) application to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, their business plan relies on capturing $ 200-$300 million a year in gross gaming revenue from the state of Connecticut, so anything less than that makes the current business plan untenable," said Barrow.
Earlier this year, MGM won approval from city officials and state casino regulators for a cost-cutting redesign of the Springfield project. Further downsizing is unlikely to win regulatory approvals, so MGM has to go all out to halt a third Connecticut casino, according to Barrow.
" They are sort of in a bind. There is only so much (MGM) can do to make this project financially feasible," said Barrow.
Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos have both seen revenues shrink substantially as casino competition has increased in the Northeast. A third casino would help stave off more losses.
MGM has mostly cleared a 14-acre site in downtown Springfield and has begun to pour concrete foundations for a parking garage and a hotel that will be part of the casino complex.
The casino is scheduled to open in September 2018.
