The proposed waterfront MGM Casino resort at Bridgeport’s Steelpointe Harbor is still a long way from becoming a reality.
Gaming isn’t authorized under state law in Bridgeport and the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes that run Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun will likely fight the proposal.
Still, Mayor Toni Harp of New Haven is willing to roll the dice because she says the privately funded project would provide a boost to the regional economy. The MGM proposal comes with 7,000 jobs and a new job training facility in New Haven.
“I think it’s a good idea because the jobs crisis is really, really crazy,” Debbie Kee, a mother of two from New Haven, said. “I myself have been experiencing difficulty finding a job, I’ve been jobless now for a year.”
Harp’s spokesperson told NBC Connecticut no potential sites for the job training center have been identified yet.
“Realistically, I think that the downtown area is a good spot to bring it into,” Alyssa Krinsky, the assistant market manager for City Seed, said. “Downtown’s always a busy bustling area so it would be a great addition to the area.”
The City Seed farmer’s market sets up by City Hall and in three other Elm City neighborhoods.
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“While casinos are always kind of a shifty subject for people, because of just the nature of them,” Krinsky said. “It’s more jobs and we can always do with more jobs in the new haven area, absolutely.”
Some of the farmer’s market customers, she said, are on food stamps.
“We don’t want people to stay on the program,” Krinsky said. “We want people to be able to get off the program and progress and have a job where they’re making enough money to attend the markets and spend their own money.”
Kee said she is hopeful state officials get behind the Bridgeport casino project.
“I think it will help our community,” she said.
