The Fight Continues as MGM Casino Takes Aim at Bridgeport

Things in Hartford started heating up this week, as Bridgeport officials headed to the state capitol to lobby for the proposed waterfront casino in Bridgeport.

Now, the addition of a casino in Bridgeport is kind of a double edged sword. There are those who are supporting the casino -- they say it would bring 7,000 new jobs to the city. And then, there's the State, who would lose out on some $200 million a year in slot machine money from both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun Casinos if the new MGM were to be built.

According to news12.com, before anything can move any further, the state would have to legalize casino ownership to private companies, like MGM, and not just the tribes that run the other Connecticut casinos. Back in the early-1990s, the tribes that control Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods signed contracts giving them exclusive rights to gambling in the state. In return, Connecticut gets 25 percent of slot machine revenue.

In didn't take long for representatives from both sides to go at it. Check out this exchange between Sen. Cathy Osten and part of the Bridgeport delegation, Rep. Jack Hennesy:

So as of now, the two sides couldn't be any farther apart, but as Bridgeport Rep. Chris Rosario said in a news12.com report, "We need to get people jobs in the city of Bridgeport because it's literally a matter of life or death."