A new casino built in Fairfield County would have a much greater financial benefit to Connecticut than if it was built in the Greater Hartford area, according to a study released on Thursday.
The study by Oxford Economics shows a commercial casino built in southwestern Connecticut would generate $545 million more in total economic output for the state, including $128 million more in total tax revenue, than a casino in north central Connecticut would.
A casino in southwestern Connecticut would also mean 3,600 more jobs, according to the study, which was commissioned by MGM Resorts.
Last year, the state reached a deal with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to develop a casino on non-tribal land, a first for Connecticut. The tribes, which operate Foxwoods Resort and Mohegan Sun respectively, are looking to build a casino in the Hartford region to compete with MGM's new casino being built in Springfield, Massachusetts.
"The bottom line question is where does Connecticut get the best deal? The more comprehensive the study, the clearer the answer becomes. It is not in the Hartford region. Southwest Connecticut offers a market that brings more jobs, more revenue and more opportunity for economic growth. The Oxford Economics study, as a precursor to a full-blown state analysis, precisely lays out the facts," Alan Feldman, MGM Executive Vice President, Global Government and Industry Affairs said in a statement.
MGM officials said they hope the study will spur the state to do its own independent study on the economic impacts of different locations for a new casino.
