MGM Springfield might end up getting unexpected support from Connecticut lawmaker Rep. Chris Perone who is in the process of introducing a new bill that wants a second market study done to get another opinion on how the state’s third casino will impact casino revenues, gambling taxes and employment opportunities.

The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Sun tribes decided to form a joint partnership and create MMCT, the company responsible for building the third casino in Connecticut. The company is currently in the process of choosing a possible site from four different locations to build Connecticut’s third casino which was approved in an effort to stop Connecticut’s gamblers from crossing state borders and going over to neighbouring state casinos such as MGM Springfield.

The two tribes had earlier funded a study which was carried out by Clyde Barrow, a well known casino consultant and political scientist who completed the market analysis and released a report to the public which stated that competition from neighbouring states would cost Connecticut 9,300 jobs, $100 million in state gaming taxes and over $700 million in gross gaming revenue.

However Perone does not want to solely rely on Barrow’s report and wants a second study to be done which also looks at widening the new casino location beyond the Hartford corridor and the I-91. Should the new study be commissioned, it would delay the construction of the new Connecticut casino as MMCT is still waiting on another legislation to be passed that approves construction to commence.

In a statement, Andrew Doba who serves as a representative of the MMCT said “Clyde Barrow, a respected academic who’s studied this issue for years, has already released a report that puts in specific detail the exact impact this will have on the state. If we do nothing, Connecticut will lose 9,300 jobs and more than $100 million in revenue.”

Barrow stated that he was surprised to learn that there were talks of conducting yet another study which he believed wouldn’t be very productive as it would come up with similar results as the first study. The MGM Springfield project is expected to be completed towards the end of 2018 and any delay to Connecticut’s third casino will prove to be beneficial to the MGM Springfield project as both casinos compete to capture market share.

MGM Springfield officials were not very happy when they learned that Connecticut had suddenly decided to license a third new casino. MGM Springfield was looking to capitalize on its proximity to Connecticut and expected to draw a significant amount of Connecticut’s gamblers to its facility.