I'm folding and flushing them, folks!
"MGM latest big casino operator to look at Bay State" January 12, 2012|By Mark Arsenault
MGM Resorts International, which operates some of the most elaborate gambling palaces on the Las Vegas strip, will enter the casino sweepstakes in Western Massachusetts as the development partner in a casino proposal in Brimfield, near the Massachusetts Turnpike.
The casino company joins a crowded field seeking the sole casino license available in Western Massachusetts.
Operators of the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut are proposing a resort in Palmer, while Ameristar Casinos wants to build on a site in Springfield and Hard Rock International has been eyeing Holyoke.
With MGM’s entrance to the field, most of the top casino operators in the country are exploring bids for one three casino licenses in the Bay State.
Casino giants Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts are planning to compete for development rights in the Greater Boston region; the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, working with Malaysia-based Genting, has been given a head start in winning casino development rights in Southeastern Massachusetts....
The town of Brimfield, with a population under 4,000, is best known for its sprawling antique show, held three times a year. Covering acres of outdoor exhibition space, each show lasts several days and draws thousands of dealers, buyers, and browsers.
Brimfield selectmen did not return e-mail messages yesterday.
The news of another major player entering the competition struck a sour note with casino supporters in Palmer, where Mohegan Sun has been carefully cultivating local support for years, in anticipation of legalization of casino gambling.
“There certainly has been a lot of action out here,’’ said Jennifer Baruffaldi, spokeswoman for the procasino group, Citizens for Jobs and Growth in Palmer. “We do believe that we have the best site, and we will keep moving forward.’’
State Senator Stephen Brewer, a Barre Democrat, represents Brimfield and Palmer. He had expected the casino legislation to attract numerous developers to the region, “and frankly I think there will be more,’’ he said. “This is when the bidders begin to get serious.’’
He credited the Massachusetts Turnpike with attracting developers. “All along I have said, ‘Give me 50 acres and easy-on, easy-off to a major piece of infrastructure, the turnpike, then you’ve got yourself a starting point.’ ’’
“Come on in, the water’s fine,’’ Brewer said, urging developers to consider the western region.
MGM, one of the biggest casino operators in the world, has run into trouble in recent years. “MGM is one of the big ones that a lot of people thought might not make it through the recession,’’ said Barrow, referring to the firm’s large debt load.
In Atlantic City, MGM will sell its share of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa because casino regulators are uncomfortable with MGM’s relationship with Hong Kong businesswoman Pansy Ho, whose father is alleged to have ties to organized crime.
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Related: Suffolk casino plan on easier track
Boston City Council drops casino panel plan
High stakes in Palmer
In Brimfield, a soft-sell on casino
Gambling official to headline casino talk
Casino bids a test for small-town resources
Hard Rock looks beyond Holyoke for casino
Gaming Commission won't rush on casinos
"City Council head using casino plan as leverage, January 28, 2012|By Andrew Ryan
The Boston City Council president delivered an ultimatum this week to the owners of Suffolk Downs: No proposal for a casino will advance while a hole remains in Downtown Crossing, where one of the racetrack’s investors has allowed a development to languish.
Council President Stephen J. Murphy contends that the state’s new gambling law requires the City Council and the mayor to schedule a referendum to approve any gambling resort in Boston. The aim, Murphy said, is to use a casino as leverage to kick-start work on the former Filene’s site, which has been left dormant by developer Steven Roth, and his company, Vornado Realty Trust, which also owns 20 percent of Suffolk Downs.
“Nothing is going to happen until we hear from Roth and Vornado,’’ Murphy said yesterday in an interview. “We can’t have a guy blow us off for 3 1/2 years and then expect to come in and line his pockets 4 miles away across town.’’
For nearly two years, Mayor Thomas M. Menino has made similar threats, using the promise of a Suffolk Downs casino to hammer the New York developer. But yesterday, the Menino administration disputed Murphy’s interpretation of the law, arguing that the council had little real sway in determining the fate of a casino in East Boston.
For the council, a body perennially overshadowed by a five-term mayor with sweeping power, Murphy’s ultimatum served as an unusually forceful assertion of power. But it also highlighted the complexities of the 48,000-word law that legalized casino gambling in Massachusetts and underscored the high stakes as local officials seek to maximize leverage and reap potential jackpots for their communities....
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"Deal set for a tower on gaping Filene’s site" February 03, 2012|By Casey Ross
BOSTON -- Developer Millennium Partners will take control of the long-idle Filene’s property in Downtown Crossing and build a tower on the site with retail stores, office space, and residences, city officials briefed on the transaction said last night.
The firm will become an investor in the massive project and team up with its existing owner, Vornado Realty Trust of New York. Vornado has been a constant irritant to Mayor Thomas Menino since it stopped construction on the site 3 1/2 years ago, leaving a giant crater in the heart of the city’s central shopping district.
The breakthrough deal would end one of the biggest real estate debacles in city history....
It comes after Menino and other city officials recently began pressuring Vornado to get moving on the project by threatening to interfere with the company’s other major investment in Boston: Construction of a $1 billion casino at the Suffolk Downs racetrack....
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"No say for some who would be casinos’ neighbors" February 08, 2012|By Mark Arsenault
WALPOLE - Mike McCarthy lives close enough to a Gillette Stadium parking lot to smell the hibachi grills on game day. He does not mind Sunday tailgaters a few hundred feet from his house, but he draws the line at a billion-dollar casino.
Though he lives closer than almost anyone to the proposed site of a Wynn Resorts casino, he will not be allowed to participate in a local referendum if the project makes it to a vote. The casino would be in Foxborough; McCarthy lives just over the town line, in South Walpole.
“We don’t get a say,’’ said McCarthy, who has lived behind the stadium parking lot for about two years. “We would have to put our faith in the people of Foxborough, and that is a very powerless feeling.’’
The state legislation that paved the way for casino gambling in Massachusetts, signed by Governor Deval Patrick in November, gives tremendous power to local residents to decide if a casino will be built in their community: No casino project is eligible to compete for a coveted state license until voters in the host town - or, in large cities, the local voting ward - endorse the project in a referendum.
The legislation, however, gives little say to residents in neighboring towns....
This has left some residents near proposed casino sites feeling disenfranchised....
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How you like my poker face?
Also see: East Boston group to fight casino
Damn! Loser again!
