MGM releases ad attacking Bradley International Airport casino

MGM Resorts International released an online ad attacking the Connecticut Airport Authority for a proposed casino at Bradley International Airport.

US.- MGM Resorts International released an online ad attacking the Connecticut Airport Authority for a proposed casino at Bradley International Airport. The projected casino would be just 20 miles from downtown Springfield, where MGM’s US$950 million casino is currently under construction.

The ad asserts the airport casino is a “bad deal” that will “scam” taxpayers. The attack ad is MGM’s latest effort to block any possible competition. MGM has waged a legal fight in federal court and lobbied at the Connecticut State Capitol and in the halls of Congress.

MGM obtained the airport casino proposal earlier this month through a freedom of information request.  The Connecticut Airport Authority declared that the plan to develop a casino along with a US$250 million transportation centre was discarded in June, although other airport casino location could still be in play.

The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, operators of Connecticut’s two casinos in the southeastern part of the state, have joined forces to pursue a possible satellite casino in the Hartford area. No site has been yet selected. Before a third casino could be built, the tribes need approvals from the Connecticut legislature and governor.

In the meantime, 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 MGM Springfield is scheduled to open in September 2018.