Playing long odds, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes have engaged in negotiations with Bridgeport officials eager to bring a casino to their city, development that would have to be approved by state lawmakers and Gov. Ned Lamont.

It appeared unlikely Friday that any deal could be put to a vote by the time the legislature’s regular session ends at midnight Wednesday, although a special session could follow almost immediately. Another potential obstacle is the likelihood that MGM Resorts International, which has a Bridgeport casino proposal on the table, would challenge the tribes’ right to build in Bridgeport.

“Conversations and proposals are certainly very fluid in the final days of the legislative session,” MGM Resorts said in a statement Friday evening. “We continue to track developments closely.”

The tribes made clear Friday that regardless of what happens in Bridgeport, they remain committed to their long-stalled Tribal Winds Casino project in East Windsor.

“There is no ‘either/or' solution when it comes to East Windsor and Bridgeport, and we shouldn’t be playing two Connecticut communities against each other,” Andrew Doba, a spokesman for the tribes, said in a statement. “In fact, both municipalities can play a critical role in helping us to maximize jobs and revenue for Connecticut. We continue to have conversations with the administration, legislative leaders, the Bridgeport delegation and the mayor on a global solution that will also bring some level of investment in the Park City.

“We're hoping to come to a resolution sooner rather than later,” Doba said.

Talks between Bridgeport officials and the tribes could help resolve a legislative impasse over a number of gaming issues confronting the state, lawmakers said.

The parties, including Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, Senate leaders and members of the Bridgeport legislative delegation have met several times in recent days, according to Rep. Christopher Rosario, a Bridgeport Democrat.

Gov. Lamont’s office has not been involved.

“We have not been asked to participate in any negotiations and have no first-hand knowledge of details of any proposal or of any deal," said Maribel La Luz, the governor's director of communications.

Reportedly, the deal calls for a $350 million investment in a Bridgeport casino and hotel, with the tribes to be awarded the exclusive right to offer sports betting and online wagering in the state. The Connecticut Lottery Corp. and Sportech Venues, which operates the state’s off-track betting facilities, also have sought a piece of the sports-betting action.

Sen. Cathy Osten, a Sprague Democrat, said that if an agreement among the tribes, Bridgeport officials and lawmakers can be reached, it could “change the face of gaming in Connecticut.”

“The tribal nations and the mayor of Bridgeport have to come to an agreement that would be beneficial to the city and the businesses of the tribes,” she said. “Many legislators are waiting for that to happen.”

MGM Resorts International long has advocated for the state to establish an open bidding process among casino operators.

If the state were to authorize an operator other than the tribes to develop a Bridgeport casino, it would risk losing its 25 percent share of the slot-machine winnings generated by the tribes’ existing casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. The revenue-sharing agreement is spelled out in the tribes' gaming compacts with the state.

In earlier talks, representatives of the governor’s office had urged the tribes to abandon their plans to build a casino in East Windsor and instead develop a Bridgeport project and be granted the exclusive right to operate sports betting. The state hoped MGM would agree to drop its interest in a Bridgeport casino and avoid any further challenge of the tribes’ East Windsor project.

MGM could sue over the 2017 state law that authorized the tribes to pursue the project, Connecticut’s only commercial casino on nontribal land.

Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, built on the tribes’ respective reservations, have lost business to MGM Springfield, the $1 billion resort casino MGM Resorts opened late last summer in western Massachusetts. The East Windsor casino site is about 13 miles from MGM Springfield.

MGM Resorts also owns and operates Empire City Casino in Yonkers, N.Y., which is about 50 miles from Bridgeport.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com