He didn’t think the developer, MGM Resorts International, was serious about the project, and he didn’t like the advertising campaign they were running. Charlie Stallworth, a Connecticut state representative and the pastor of East End Baptist Tabernacle Church in Bridgeport, was skeptical.

'Authorization of this facility would violate the existing compacts between the two tribes and the state which would immediately end the slot payments that currently sends the state hundreds of million a year in much need revenue,' he added.When he first heard about the casino, Dr. 'The idea that MGM is having a 'groundbreaking' for a project that hasn't come close to receiving legislative approval continues a pattern of dishonesty that we saw time and again during the legislative session,' said partnership spokesman Andrew Doba in a statement. Meanwhile, MMCT, the partnership venture formed by the two tribes to build the East Windsor casino, called the announcement a stunt. MGM says it will offer 2,000 slot machines, 160 table games, a 7,000-seat theater, 300-room hotel, as well as shops and restaurants. The intention is for the casino to tap the New York market. 'We just need the political commitment to make it happen.” 'This project can help to turn the economic tide of this state,' said Murren. MGM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James Murren, a Bridgeport native, said MGM Bridgeport can be “a major economic force, a top-tier entertainment resort, and an essential contributor to this community.”

The company is promising that it will create 7,000 jobs, and remit $8 million in annual payments to the city. MGM has signed a contract with the RCI Group, the developer of Steelepoint Harbor in Bridgeport, to build the resort. MGM is constructing a new casino in Springfield, Massachusetts, a facility which the tribes claim will threaten their business in Connecticut.

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