Group backs tribe’s plan for Conn. casino

Matt Sedensky

Friday, July 19, 2002 | 9:56 a.m.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A decision on the Golden Hill Paugussetts' federal recognition petition is months away, but Dino Benedetto was already picturing himself tossing dice and playing slots in his hometown of Bridgeport.

Benedetto was one of the most vocal people in a crowd of about 150 who gathered at Captain's Cove Wednesday night to hear the latest on the tribe's attempt to build a casino in the city.

Friends of the Golden Hill Paugussetts, a group led by Benedetto that supports the tribe, sponsored the outdoor meeting and invited the public to explain the casino plan. Most of the crowd was in favor of the tribe's plans.

"It's going to be something that's going to be spectacular for the city of Bridgeport," Benedetto said. "It's going to enhance the entertainment business and it's going to bring more people to the state."

Besides the unveiling of some architectural renderings of the proposed casino, there wasn't much new to announce. That didn't stop the crowd from brewing with excitement over what many of them called a done deal.

For 20 years, the tribe has been seeking federal recognition.

"We really see the light at the end of the tunnel," Michael O'Connell, a lawyer for the Paugussetts, said.

The tribe was recognized by the state in 1973 and has reservations in Trumbull and Colchester.

Charles Tisdale, a spokesman and consultant for the tribe, said if the Paugussetts receive federal recognition later this year, progress on the casino will move fast.

If the tribe is recognized, the Bureau of Indian Affairs will review opposition to the ruling until June 2003. The BIA has never reversed a decision, Tisdale said.

While the six-month review of the BIA's decision occurs, the Paugussetts will identify their building site and complete plans.

After that, Tisdale said, "We will be in the ground in a matter of days."

Computerized images of the casino could be viewed at Captain's Cove. But with no site determined, details were vague.

A visual of the proposed finished complex included a vast, terraced casino with a hotel likely to be housed in a pointed tower that resembles the Washington Monument rising from the center.

"It does have a lot of the characteristics that pay tribute to their history, but it also has a lot of the modern character that you would typically find in an urban center," said Leo Rodriguez, of RCL Associates, the Bridgeport-based architectural firm that prepared the preliminary casino plans.

As sea gulls glided overhead and boats floated out against a gentle Long Island Sound breeze Wednesday, speaker after speaker trumpeted the benefits of the casino. Jobs. Tax revenues. Economic stimulus. Further development.

Supporters decried naysayers -- none of whom could be found at the meeting -- who believe a casino would translate into a traffic nightmare. They said the project would create jobs for city residents who now travel south -- to Norwalk, Greenwich and Stamford -- at home.

"We don't want to send our people down there anymore to cut their grass or clean their toilet," said Benedetto, who owns a gas station in Bridgeport. "We want them to stay here."

In a 1996 referendum, the vast majority of Bridgeporters supported building a casino.

But the tribe has opponents in many of Fairfield County's Gold Coast suburbs.

Tisdale said the Paugussetts have made commitments to contribute more than $100 million annually to Bridgeport if the casino is built.

"If you can't match that, don't tell me what we're going to do here in the city of Bridgeport," Tisdale said.

Bill Bevacqua, a consultant to Tisdale and the former president of the Bridgeport Economic Development Corp., said a casino here was necessary for revitalization of the city and would help the state as well.

"Where would the state of Connecticut be if there were not the proceeds of the gaming industry?"

Under gaming compacts with the two casinos already in the state -- Foxwoods Resort Casino near Ledyard and the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville -- Connecticut gets 25 percent of slot machine revenues. The state's take totaled more than $30 million this month.