I didn't; I bought a Boston Sunday Globe.
"Kraft, resort executive in casino talks; Plan involves Las Vegas figure Wynn Land would be leased for $1b facility" December 02, 2011|By Noah Bierman and Frank Phillips, Globe Staff
Robert Kraft, one of the state’s most powerful businessmen, is in negotiations with one of Las Vegas’ biggest players, Steve Wynn, to propose a $1 billion casino near Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, according to two people within the industry who are familiar with the talks.
The destination resort casino would be located on 200 acres across from the stadium and the Patriot Place mall. The gambling facility would be part of a larger complex that would also include a hotel, retail, restaurants, and large entertainment facilities.
While the deal has not been completed, the Krafts and Wynn, in secret negotiations for weeks, had hoped to reveal their plans with a major announcement in the next few days. Wynn is expected to be Kraft’s special guest at the game between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette this Sunday.
Related: Patriots spike Colts
Got a bit of a scare at the end there, didn't ya? I noticed the Patriots didn't cover the spread.
Last night, in response to the Globe, The Kraft Group, which owns the New England Patriots and the land under negotiation, confirmed the talks....
The proposal still faces a number of hurdles....
The Kraft family has been developing the area around the stadium for years, including Patriot Place, a 1.3 million-square-foot shopping and entertainment complex adjacent to the stadium. The group is also pursuing a permanent commuter rail link and a pedestrian bridge to connect their properties now bisected by Route 1.
Taxpayers to pay for that footpath?
See: Patriots' Kraft Passes Checks to Patrick
All so you can get to the casino!
The state has designated the property across from the stadium as a growth district, one of a few sites that can accommodate a significant development.
But Kevin Paicos, Foxborough’s town manager, told the Globe in October that he could not find one local resident who favors a casino.
I'll bet the Globe will.
Related: Kraft Casino Not a Fan Favorite in Foxborough
Which is just all so perplexing because of the jobs and riches it will bring. I mean, the way the agenda-pushing coverage is slanted the Globe makes it seem like everybody's a winner if these leeches come to the state. I can't imagine why people would be against jobs.
However, the chairman of the Foxborough Board of Selectmen, Larry Harrington, said in an e-mail last night that the town should keep an open mind....
Meaning the rich and powerful elite who benefit to the billions are going to jam this.... well, you decide which orifice and direction you would like to get it.
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"Mogul has golden touch, and very deep pockets" December 03, 2011|By Casey Ross, Globe Staff
In the late 1980s, Steve Wynn became known as the savior of Las Vegas, a brash personality and bold thinker who reinvigorated a stale casino industry by building a shimmering temple of entertainment that set a new standard of opulence for the business.
These casinos are not being built for you, average Massachusetts citizen. They are monuments to increasing wealth inequality.
The resort he built then, The Mirage, and others over three decades, feature man-made mountains, artificial lakes, museums with priceless art, geyser fountains, a Ferrari and Maserati dealership, and just about every luxury clothing brand imaginable. In Macau, off the China mainland, he owns two casinos that raked in about $2.8 billion in the first nine months of the year, and is now preparing to build a third one there.
“Nobody can compete with his level of glamour,’’ said William Thompson, a University of Nevada Las Vegas professor who has followed Wynn’s career. “He comes into a community and builds something where people will say, ‘Wow, look at that.’ His mission is to add value, and then of course to make a billion on the side.’’
The savior of Massachusetts.
Now Wynn is preparing to audition his vision in Massachusetts, as he negotiates a deal with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to build a casino opposite Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
Though details are few, gambling industry specialists said to expect nothing different for Massachusetts. It may not be 50 stories, like the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, or feature a smoke-billowing mechanical dragon, such as at Wynn Macau, but it will be big, luxurious, and bold.
“Steve Wynn by reputation has trouble not spending money,’’ said William Eadington, an economics professor and director of the University of Nevada Reno’s gambling research center. He said Wynn is known as the “Walt Disney of the gaming industry’’ for building spectacular imaginary worlds that offer a buffet of entertainment options.
He does everything on a grand scale, with architectural details and other flourishes that are so over the top, they would likely not fly in any industry other than casinos. “He’s been very creative, almost to the point of being an artiste,’’ said Eadington.
Wynn could not be reached for comment yesterday and a spokesman for his company declined to discuss plans for Massachusetts. However, Wynn is scheduled to watch the Patriots home game tomorrow with Kraft, and then meet with local media on Monday.
Then there are going to be more promotions, 'er, stories in my printed Globe if I decide to gamble on them this week.
The spokesman, Michael Weaver, said Kraft and Wynn have been friends for some time, and that Wynn is looking forward to getting local feedback about a casino.
“It’s an informal opportunity for him to meet the community and some of the officials and hear about their interest in the sort of … five-star resort experience that people are accustomed to with Wynn,’’ Weaver said.
Wynn is known for his big personality and a mouth to match. He has a penchant for veering off on tangents about American politics. During a recent conference call to discuss his company’s earnings, Wynn went on a diatribe about President Obama’s economic policies.
“I’m saying it bluntly, that this administration is the greatest wet blanket to business, and progress and job creation in my lifetime,’’ Wynn said.
The son of a compulsive gambler, Wynn, now 69, grew up in upstate New York and studied English literature at the University of Pennsylvania. He bypassed Yale Law School to go into the family business in 1963, running a bingo parlor in Maryland previously owned by his father. He landed in Las Vegas in 1967, eventually buying a narrow strip of land from Howard Hughes that he ultimately sold, at double the price, to Caesars Palace.
His big moment was in 1989 with the development of The Mirage, the first new casino in Las Vegas in 15 years. The Mirage immediately challenged Caesars for the top gambling venue in the city, offering a volcano, a soaring atrium and the white tiger act of Siegfried & Roy.
Didn't one of the tiger flip out and attack one of them?
The feeling here is captivity and imprisonment is never a good thing if you are a sentient being.
It cost $630 million to build, a staggering sum at the time, and many industry analysts predicted it would be a white elephant. Instead, it proved so successful that it set the standard for the next wave of outrageous casinos.
“The Mirage was a big step forward in terms of being a luxury casino,’’ said Thompson, the UNLV professor. “Wynn is really the person that brought us out of the doldrums of the ’80s.’’
Wynn followed the Mirage with Treasure Island and the Bellagio. In the late ’90s, the company began to struggle, due to budget overruns with construction of the Bellagio and the ill-advised Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Miss. Wynn then survived a bruising battle with MGM Grand, which bought his company, then known as Mirage Resorts, for $21 a share.
He went on to build Wynn Las Vegas and Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. He also operates two casinos in Macau, the world’s largest gambling market, and is promising that his third one there will be a “breakaway’’ facility unlike anything else in the world.
His big spending habits extend to his pursuit of modern paintings and other fine arts, with Wynn paying spectacular prices for Picassos and other recognized masters that he then sprinkles around his resorts.
It's not like I'm dissing the arts; however, God forbid the $ be used for health care or some other ungodly purpose. I'm so sick of seeing so much "spare" money floating into corporate profit cans while Americans suffer.
While he often backs up big talk with successful developments, Wynn’s outspoken manner sometimes works against him when he has to compete against others for a government-issued license, such as in the process to be used in Massachusetts.
“Steve Wynn has never been very successful in a bidding environment, partly because his ego is so large, it gets in the way,’’ Eadington said. “He’s impatient with bureaucracy, with people who tell him what to do. Everybody always waits for him to implode.’’
In Pennsylvania, one of the most recent states to legalize casinos, Wynn turned heads with comments he made about the different ethnic groups he hoped to court for an ultimately abandoned effort to open a casino there. He noted that his casino site was a short drive from “my old friends, Italians and Jews, and every conceivable stripe of ethnic group that love to shoot crap and gamble.’’
I guess it's okay to be racist or supremacist; it just depends on who you are.
Despite any setbacks, Wynn’s casinos are among the most successful in the world. His business ended 2010 with $1.25 billion in cash, and his resorts are recognized worldwide for their stunning luxury amenities.
So Wynn yourself a slice of the good life -- for a night, anyway.
Gambling specialists in Massachusetts said his entry into the casino bidding battle instantly changes the landscape in Greater Boston, where many put Suffolk Downs as the favorite to get a license....
That should tick off Speaker DeLeo.
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"Should gleaming palace for gambling go here?" December 03, 2011|By Noah Bierman and Casey Ross, Globe Staff
The emergence of a likely partnership between New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Las Vegas gambling mogul Steve Wynn has shaken up the competition for a coveted casino license, reshaping expectations of which developers are best positioned to cash in on the state’s newest industry.
Do you know who is cashing out, sucker citizens?
There remain many unanswered questions, including whether a business relationship between Kraft and a casino operator could run afoul of NFL rules and whether the already congested area around Gillette Stadium can accommodate another high-traffic business. But if Kraft, who would lease property to Wynn, can clear those hurdles, the partnership is expected to be formidable.
“I’d hate to be the competitor who’s going against’’ Wynn, said William N. Thompson, a gambling specialist and professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Thompson said that for the past 15 years, Wynn has run a more glamorous operation than Caesar’s - the gambling company teaming up with Suffolk Downs on a bid to build a casino in East Boston.
A proposal for a $1 billion Foxborough casino would compete head-to-head against the similar-scale proposal at Suffolk Downs for one of three resort casino licenses authorized by the new state gambling law. Many industry analysts and political observers had deemed Suffolk the front-runner for a license designated for the Boston region....
Kraft has forged a strong relationship with Patrick, helping to arrange the governor’s mission to Israel this year, advising him often, and seeking his help in gaining public money to build a pedestrian bridge linking the property he owns on Route 1 with the Patriot Place mall and Gillette.
Why was that public money part omitted from the article above?
Also see: Governor on the Go
Kraft’s biggest obstacle may be the National Football League, which has taken a fairly strong stance against allowing its owners to have financial relationships with gambling facilities.
Yeah, looks kind of bad even though point spreads are the order of the day on all the damn football shows.
Members of the Rooney family, longtime owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers, were forced by the league in recent years to divest from the team because the family has also owned race tracks in Yonkers, N.Y., and Palm Beach, Fla., for many years.
“For the most part, the NFL just wanted to get as far away from gambling interests as they could,’’ Patrick Rooney Jr., president of the Palm Beach Kennel Club, said yesterday.
Rooney said his wing of the family went from owning 16 percent of the team to holding just 2 percent, with no control, because of their association with gambling.
Kraft’s relationship could be allowed, however, because while he would own the land, he would lease it to Wynn, who would own and run the casino....
The Massachusetts casino law could present one additional snag. Language in the law suggests that anyone with a financial interest in a casino could be required to be a party on the gambling license. A Patrick administration official said yesterday that it would be up to the gambling commission to interpret that clause, and it may or may not apply to the property owner.
The Kraft Group confirmed yesterday that it would lease the land to Wynn, but it does not consider that to be a financial interest in a casino.
All meaning they will get around whatever some way.
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"Kraft’s retail plaza would reap benefit" December 03, 2011|By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff
If you want to know why Robert Kraft would welcome a casino complex in Foxborough, take a look at his shopping plaza, Patriot Place. The much-hyped retail and restaurant space adjacent to Gillette Stadium has not lived up to expectations.
A casino across the street on Route 1 would guarantee a flood of new visitors and help kick-start Kraft’s vision to make the property an entertainment destination, according to retail analysts.
Casinos and stores make a powerful combination - most evident, of course, in Las Vegas. And that’s where Kraft is seeking a potential partner, Steve Wynn, to build a $1 billion casino on 200 acres across from Patriot Place.
“It would be a boon to that shopping center and bring a constant flow of traffic, rather than just predominately weekend traffic,’’ said Robert F. Sheehan, a vice president at Key Point Partners, a Burlington commercial real estate services firm. “You see retail space up and down the Strip in Vegas and inside the casinos on different levels because they’ve found viable shoppers with cash to spend.’’
********************
Building a casino across the street - and the potential for a pedestrian bridge that would directly connect the two properties divided by Route 1 - would bring more shoppers to existing stores and entice new retailers to move into the property.
Nothing about the foot-bridge being funded by taxpayers again.
And revenues from leasing the property to Wynn would allow the Krafts to invest in more attractions for the complex....
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And the forgotten people of Foxborough?
"Town’s OK of casino may be a long shot; Many Foxborough residents express doubts over $1b project" December 03, 2011|By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff
FOXBOROUGH - From the Central Street consignment shop, Judy Hartwell takes in the gentle sweep of a quintessential New England town green, church steeple in the distance.
But with her mind’s eye, she sees a colossal new casino rising beside Gillette Stadium and lines of cars and charter buses inching their way toward it.
Like many locals, Hartwell fervently hopes the vision is just a mirage.
“It would totally change the character of the town,’’ she said, “and it’s not what we bought into.’’
As residents here learned that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was in talks with a Las Vegas mogul to bring a $1 billion casino to Foxborough, reaction among many residents was decidedly negative.
The town manager couldn't find a one, but....
Many grumbled that the casino would intensify already daunting traffic that nearly traps people in their driveways on autumn Sundays. They worried it would bring a messy sprawl of cheap hotels and low-end restaurants, and spur an increase in crime.
Most of all, they feared a casino would turn their town, already strained by the Patriots’ presence, into an overrun spectacle, an altogether different place from the quaint bedroom community they call home.
Nothing wrong with those; I live in one myself.
“We’ve had enough,’’ resident Rachael Keefe said from her counter at the consignment shop, The New Trading Post. “Foxborough’s a little town, and we already do our share. Let’s keep the gambling where it is.’’
Across the shop, filled with customers looking for inexpensive clothes, people nodded their agreement....
The law requires that casinos win the approval of local voters, and many residents say the 17,000-strong town, at least for the moment, isn’t favorably inclined.
“I think they’re going to have a tough row to hoe,’’ said Kevin Weinfeld, chairman of the planning board. “People are concerned that it just won’t be the same town anymore.’’
Traffic before and after home Patriot games forces many residents to rearrange their weekend schedules, and peak hours at the mall can cause delays. But residents fear the casino would bring far worse headaches.
“This is a different kettle of fish,’’ Weinfeld said.
In 2004, residents resoundingly defeated a plan to develop a harness racing track near the stadium, and Weinfeld said doubts about building a gambling facility there remain.
But plenty of residents say they would welcome a casino.
I told you the Globe would find them. I won the bet, 'eh?
Rob Ryan, who moved to town from Boston 30 years ago after falling in love with its small-town feel, said he would welcome the influx of tax revenue and new jobs.
“It would bring a lot of service-industry jobs to this town,’’ said Ryan, 57....
You know, the "GOOD" jobs.
Ryan predicted that general good will toward the Kraft family would ease local concerns about the casino’s ill effects....
Across the street, 21-year-old Shane Rodman said he was hopeful about the prospect of jobs that a casino would bring.
“More power to them,’’ he said. “The opportunity to bring in more jobs is very important.’’
Yes, it makes one wonder why anyone would be against gambling. Why would anyone be against building an economy on the impulsive largesse of the wealthy throwing money away or the robbing of people who can't afford to gamble?
Even those who leaned against the idea acknowledged that many people in town are unemployed or working only sporadically, and that the casino could help them get back on their feet.
After I have been told for months and months how great Massachusetts economy is weathering the recession relative to others.
The project would employ more than 10,000 construction workers and create some 8,000 permanent jobs.
As if.
The chairman of the board of selectmen, Larry Harrington, said he would be looking for a facility that was “first class in every way’’ and would create a “significant number of jobs.’’ He called for the developer to give residents and family members preference for employment.
He said he would look for the project to contribute “substantial revenue’’ to the public schools and allow the town to pay off debt and reduce property taxes.
Like I said, the savior of Massachusetts.
But many residents said those benefits would carry too high a price. Paula Kaiser said cars pour into her neighborhood during Gillette Stadium events, and that the snarl extends throughout the town.
“We’re stuck at our house for hours,’’ said Kaiser, 39.
Down the street, Nancy Bergquist offered a more sweeping rebuke.
“I just don’t think it’s right,’’ she said. “I don’t think a casino’s going to help the town. Not this town.’’
I get the feeling the money doesn't care.
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"Foxborough residents protest a casino" by Brian MacQuarrie Globe Staff / December 4, 2011
America, we have an epidemic on our hands. Every time you turn around there is another damn protest!
FOXBOROUGH - The anticasino drumbeat escalated yesterday in Foxborough and neighboring communities, as organizers staged a protest on the town common, promoted two new websites to marshal their forces, and collected signatures to oppose a Las Vegas-style resort being considered for the town.
A petitioning of grievances, 'eh? Good luck.
“We will fight against this with every fiber of our being,’’ said Stephanie Crimmins, 40, a Foxborough mother of two [and] a corporate executive for Panera Bread, who addressed the morning rally of about 200 protesters on the common. “This will fundamentally impact the town for generations to come.’’
The crowd, holding signs with slogans such as “No Fox-Vegas’’ and “Foxboro Says No Dice,’’ applauded Crimmins and waved at motorists who honked their horns in support....
Foxborough Selectwoman Lorraine Brue, who attended the rally, said she has received a wave of negative reaction to such a project.
“The feedback I’ve been getting from the community . . . has been vehemently opposed to this,’’ Brue said.
Brue said she wants public discussion to begin soon, perhaps in a meeting held at the high school before the end of the month. A zoning change to allow a casino would require two-thirds approval in a Town Meeting vote, Foxborough officials said.
“As a citizen, I’m opposed to this,’’ Brue said. “I’m concerned about the impact on property values, the impact on public safety, the traffic impact, the wear and tear on the roads.’’
John Davey, a 45-year-old lawyer with five children, said a historically good relationship between the town and Kraft would venture into unwanted territory with a casino....
I was told Kraft will draw on good will.
John Murtagh, a Planning Board member from adjoining Walpole, was at the rally and said his town’s five-member panel is unanimously opposed to a casino on Route 1....
Murtagh said he feels “deceived’’ by Kraft.
“We had no idea this was coming. We love the Patriots and Tom Brady, but if we are going to have this seven days a week . . . ’’ Murtagh said, stopping in mid-sentence. “As it is, I can’t get out of my house and go to church on Sunday if there’s a game.’’
Although the crowd on the common appeared overwhelmingly opposed to a casino, a few proponents gave a thumbs-up at a coffee shop in the Foxborough Plaza....
Globe went looking again.
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Once again I am a loser when I open my Boston Globe.
