by Steve Norton
CEO, Norton Management

Ganim takes ‘wait and see’ tack on Bridgeport casino - Connecticut Post


I visited Bridgeport in the late 1970's or early 80's to meet with CT State Legislators, who wanted to learn about Resorts International's success in Atlantic City; spearheading the introduction of casino gaming. Mayor Joe Ganim sees gaming as a possibility, but local Dem. Cm. Mario Testa, would prefer just a slot parlor, not wanting to repeat AC's experience.

What happened to Atlantic City, after 29 enormously successful years, was the introduction of slot casinos and then table games in Philadelphia and Eastern PA; plus slots at Aqueduct and Yonkers. These new gaming establishments provided over 95 percent of our once monopoly market, with gaming much closer to home, than AC. So our $5.2 billion of casino win in 2006, is now down to just over $2 billion, and we have gaming at seven rather than 12 resort casinos.

But Bridgeport, or a location even closer to NY State, would serve the million plus NY citizens of Westchester and several other Counties; whose closest gaming is the slots at Yonkers racetrack; on heavily trafficked highways headed toward Manhattan. A full resort casino, with the necessary restaurants and entertainment, would easily earn much more for the State, at a PA type gaming tax, and provide far more jobs, than a satellite casino in East Windsor. And the revenues would come primarily from NY residents, rather than just taxing CT citizens.

The facility the two Tribes are proposing in East Windsor is primarily aimed at harming the under-construction MGM casino resort, in Springfield, Massachusetts.

And a Pennsylvania type tax structure at a Western CT casino would most likely surpass the $260 million revenue share currently provide by Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, and would do less harm to the current Tribal operations; than a 4th casino serving Greater Hartford.