An MGM Resorts International executive responded late Monday night to state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, who expressed "disgust" over the gaming giant's sponsorship of an election night party at The Washington Post at which guests pulled napkins off a woman's body.

Osten, in a letter Friday to Alan Feldman, an MGM executive vice president, tied the company's actions to what she called Feldman's "crassness" in trying to defend MGM Resorts' Springfield, Mass., casino project, which is expected to hurt business at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun.

Both of the southeastern Connecticut casinos are located in Osten's 19th District.

"We acknowledge your concerns regarding internet reports of our election night party in conjunction with the Washington Post," Feldman wrote in a letter to Osten that MGM emailed to The Day. "Had the events reported on the Internet occurred in the manner they have been described, they would in no way, shape or form reflect the MGM culture. But, as we are all learning, the 'news' we read online is not always accurate."

In her letter, Osten cited a Huffington Post report about the MGM-sponsored party at which napkins printed with the MGM logo were attached to the body of "a female member of the event staff."

MGM Resorts is opening a casino next month in National Harbor, Md., just south of Washington, D.C.

"Throughout the course of the night, guests pulled napkins off of this woman, gradually revealing the ensemble she wore underneath," Osten wrote. "Many of the attendees were sickened by the display ...

"As numerous Washington Post staffers noted, this decision felt especially wrong during an election cycle that pitted a historic female candidate against a deeply misogynistic opponent."

Feldman does not specify what he believes is inaccurate about Osten's account of the Huffington Post report.

In Connecticut, MGM Resorts has pursued a federal lawsuit against state officials over the 2015 law that authorized the casino-owning Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to solicit site proposals for a third Connecticut casino to compete against MGM Springfield. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments in the case Monday.

"The crassness you've displayed in trying to defend your job killing project in Springfield says volumes about the values your company holds," Osten wrote in her letter to Feldman.

"They've been disingenuous at every level, saying they're protecting jobs in Connecticut," Osten said Monday of MGM. "From my perspective, they've brought frivolous lawsuits trying to make sure they are successful in our state."

Feldman wrote that Osten's letter contained a "grave mischaracterization of MGM's efforts in Connecticut."

"Our position on Connecticut's first venture into the commercial casino industry is clear: If Connecticut wants to maximize the number of jobs created and revenue for the state, it should scrap the current process in favor of one that is fair, open, transparent, and competitive," Feldman wrote. "Such a process would result in the creation of thousands of jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for a state whose current economic status could benefit from both."

b.hallenbeck@theday.com