Bridgeport lawmakers wasted no time after the adjournment of the Legislature to announce that they’d be back with another bill to open 
Connecticut to rival casino bids (really a Trojan Horse for MGM Resorts International, not that anyone is fooled). Although their previous effort squeaked through the House by a four-vote margin, it was doomed in the Senate. In their monomania, the Bridgeporters are seriously risking the $250 million in slot revenue the state receives every year from Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino, but they obviously don’t care. Getting that damned megaresort for Bridgeport is all that matters.
For their part, the tribal casinos are more focused on Japan at the moment. Following Mohegan Sun’s declaration of interest, Foxwoods CEO Felix Rappaport was swift on his heels. “We are looking at Japan no differently than we would look at any other wonderful opportunity, domestic or international,” said Rappaport, who has nonetheless been to Japan three times in the last two years. He said Foxwoods would be open to Japanese joint-venture partners and wouldn’t be looking to duplicate the Foxwoods experience in Nippon. That’s not the only plate Rappaport is spinning: He’s also trying to build a $256 million casino in Mississippi but can’t find development partners, which doesn’t bode well for doing the same in Japan.
* Sheldon Adelson‘s $30 million check to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R) is already going to work, deploying a “shadow army” of Millennials in a massive grass-roots campaign effort. The Las Vegas Sands CEO, meanwhile, continues to use his Las Vegas Review-Journal as a billboard for his agenda. Earlier this week, the front page was dominated by a feature on the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem (which Adelson attended), accompanied by a double-truck editorial by Miriam Adelson, that well-known expert in Mideast relations.
