SPRINGFIELD — As many as four top-tier casino developers have informed Springfield officials that they would like to build a gambling resort in this struggling city on the Connecticut River, a level of interest unmatched in other parts of the state that will force developers into direct competition even before they apply for a state license.“We’re ground zero, baby,” Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno gushed during an extended interview....
The 49-year-old mayor, a Springfield-born child of Italian immigrants, is a politician in the rough-cut mold of an old neighborhood ward boss. He sits at an enormous desk stacked with papers, in a cluttered City Hall office well on its way to qualifying for a future episode of “Hoarders.”
The mayor said casino companies love his city’s location, close to the Hartford and Worcester population centers, as well as to nearby highways. He swells with hometown pride about “our outstanding water and sewer,” which, he boasts, “will rival anyplace in the country.”
On the wall behind Sarno’s desk, looking utterly out of place, is a century-old painting that came with the office — the “Birth of Springfield,” illustrating a quiet green valley. The mayor appreciates the obvious symbolism: After years of declining city revenue, budget and service cuts, and a damaging tornado last year, the city is due for an economic rebirth, he said. “I feel this is going to be a positive game-changer for the city of Springfield.”
********************************************
While several Bay State communities have slammed the door on casinos, Sarno put out the welcome mat in the spring, saying he would “fight tooth and nail” to bring a casino to Springfield. Such gung-ho receptiveness, combined with a prime location on a major north-south interstate just off the Massachusetts Turnpike, has reshaped the competition for the sole gambling resort license in the state’s western region, and vaulted Springfield into a leading contender....
Municipal officials have great power to prevent casino developments within their borders. The Foxborough Board of Selectmen, most notably, stonewalled two billionaires, blocking a casino proposal by Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn on land belonging to NFL owner Robert Kraft. Wynn dropped the proposal after the May town elections only strengthened the anti-casino tilt of the board.
What, Patriot game-day drunkenness enough for 'em?
See: Foxborough Voters Make Wynn Fold
“After the example set by Kraft and Wynn, no developer wants to go through that again,” said Clyde Barrow, a casino expert at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. “Having a favorable political climate is going to be very big.”
********************************************
So far, there is little competition in the Greater Boston region, now that Wynn has pulled out. Suffolk Downs, which has partnered with Caesars Entertainment in East Boston, is currently the only contender with a detailed plan on the table. Developer David Nunes has announced plans for a Milford casino, but has not yet revealed a financing partner.
But in the west, the casino law is working as intended: in addition to all the interest in Springfield, the owners of the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut are pursuing a gambling resort in Palmer.
Well, Palmer is protesting, but....
Las Vegas-based Ameristar Casinos was the first to plant its flag in Springfield, where the company paid $16 million for 41 acres of land.
Strong local political support “puts an operator at ease in making such a significant investment,” said Troy Stremming, an Ameristar senior vice president. Ultimately, the winning bidder would have to commit to spending at least $500 million on a casino project.
“Mayor Sarno has been very welcoming to operators and is eager to get as many projects proposed as he can,” Stremming said. “If I was in his position I would be doing exactly the same thing. I would want as many options for success as I could have.”
Stremming said his company likes locating its facilities in populous areas; Springfield is the state’s third-largest city.
“That population base is not only your clientele, but your workforce,” he said.
Penn has not yet announced a specific casino site in Springfield, but Schippers confirmed that the company has had talks with businessman Peter Picknelly, chairman and chief executive of Peter Pan Bus Lines, about a downtown site Picknelly is promoting for a casino.
City officials confirm that two more casino companies, MGM Resorts and Hard Rock International, are also seriously exploring bids in Springfield.
“We’re very happy with the lineup — they’re major players,” said Kevin Kennedy, Springfield’s chief development officer and Sarno’s point man in dealing with the casino interests.
MGM in January announced it would build in Brimfield, but withdrew after deciding the site did not fit its plans. MGM officials have been spending time in Springfield, and the company was a corporate sponsor of the local Fourth of July celebration.
Related: Over the Brim With Casino Coverage
Hard Rock originally focused on Holyoke, but moved on after the city’s new mayor, Alex Morse, a casino opponent, said he would not negotiate with the company over the terms under which the city would accept a gambling resort.
Related: Ca$hing Out on Ca$inos: Holyoke Mayor Folds His Hand
Under state law, casino developers cannot apply for a state license until they have reached an agreement with the host community.
Neither MGM nor Hard Rock has announced sites. MGM, in a statement, acknowledged the company has had “very productive meetings with community leaders in several cities in the region, including Springfield.”
A Hard Rock corporate spokesman did not return a call for comment....
The Council of Churches of Greater Springfield is promising to muster opposition to any casino proposal in the city, said the council’s president, Timothy Paul Baymon.
Baymon said a troubled urban area such as Springfield “does not need the increased crime, increased prostitution, the bankruptcies, and the domestic violence committed by addicted gamblers.”
“We plan to defeat it,” he declared....
--more--"
Related: Hard Rock, MGM ramping up casino efforts in Springfield
"A vast casino plan for Springfield; MGM proposal would remake city’s downtown" by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff, August 22, 2012
Casino giant MGM Resorts International will disclose plans Wednesday for an $800 million gambling resort, entertainment complex, and housing development in downtown Springfield, an ambitious project that would rebuild areas of the city severely damaged by a 2011 tornado, according to a draft of a company statement on the project obtained by the Globe.
The MGM project would be the first casino proposal in Massachusetts in a distinctly downtown urban setting, and a unique project for a company best known for its prominent Las Vegas Strip properties, which include the upscale Bellagio and Mandalay Bay and the quirky theme hotels Luxor and New York-New York.
A project of such a scale in Springfield, a city that has struggled financially and coped with high unemployment, would make MGM a legitimate contender for the sole casino license created for Western Massachusetts, but far from a sure bet. As many as three other reputable casino companies are preparing bids for sites in the city; another competing proposal is planned for Palmer....
It is adjacent to Interstate 91, a major north-south artery through Western Massachusetts.
Springfield officials have been eager to entertain proposals from casino operators to help shore up city finances, to restore services that have been cut, and bolster employment. Casino opponents, lead by local churches, are promising a fierce fight to keep the gambling industry out of the city....
The same group of MGM executives gathered in Massachusetts in January for another casino development announcement. Back then the location was Brimfield, the budget was $600 million, and the proposal was for a rustic resort in the woods, so isolated that it would not bother local residents who valued the small-town character of a tiny community best known for its antique fairs.
But MGM had second thoughts about the Brimfield site. The project needed an expensive new interchange off the Massachusetts Turnpike, which would have required a long review by highway officials. MGM also began to doubt that its vision, which at that time included a golf course, would fit on the 150-acre parcel of rolling, wooded hills.
The company said in March that it was abandoning the Brimfield site and would find another location in Western Massachusetts. It searched quietly for a new site, but by early summer appeared to be focusing on Springfield.
--more--" "
Related: MGM holds ‘coming out party’ for Springfield casino
"Springfield looks to narrow its casino field; Critics say tactic could backfire" by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff, August 27, 2012
Springfield will reveal its plans on Monday for whittling as many as four casino proposals down to one, amid concerns from developers and experts that the process could hurt the city’s chances to win the sweepstakes for the highly competitive Western Massachusetts casino license.Not only would the city be reducing the number of proposals that would eventually go before the state gambling commission, the critics argue, but the rejected developers could easily move to nearby towns and become competitors.
Springfield has emerged as the hot location for casino companies looking to win development rights in the western part of the state, with Ameristar, MGM Resorts, Hard Rock International, and Penn National Gaming all pursuing sites in the city.
Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno wants the city to get behind just one proposal as its submission to the state gambling commission, which will eventually decide which casino developers are granted a license. The city, with the help of consultants, will run its own competition among the gambling companies to identify which proposed project Springfield will support, Sarno has said.
Such a move could help assure that only one casino proposal goes before voters, a wish the mayor’s office expressed earlier this summer.
The mayor’s intention to eliminate up to three reputable casino developers before their proposals reach the gambling commission has raised criticism that the city is undermining two main goals of the state casino law, which was drafted to maximize competition for licenses in each region and to minimize the influence of politics by giving an independent state commission exclusive control of the competition.
“The law of unintended consequences tells us that by making what should be an open process for multiple bidders into a single bidder, it could actually eliminate the benefit of having competitive bids in the first place,” said Carl Jenkins, managing director in the accounting company CBIZ Tofias, who has studied the Massachusetts casino market.
A new competitive process outside the control of the gambling commission could also hurt the credibility of the carefully constructed state casino law, and discourage bidders from participating, he said....
--more--"
So who doe$ he know?
Also see:
Springfield digs in on casino
Springfield mayor to consider more than one casino proposal
Springfield delays bids to run casino
Springfield will slow timetable for picking casino project
Mass. gaming act gives horse racing prize boost
Three casinos submit bids for Springfield licenses
Casino firm unveils plans for $910m Springfield resort
Casino firm quits effort for a Springfield resort
"Casino rivals take pitches to Springfield; After showdown in Maryland, MGM and Penn will pitch Western Mass. plans Tuesday" by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff, December 10, 2012
Representatives of MGM and Penn each will make 45-minute presentations on their companies and their plans before taking questions from the public. The hearing is one of many hoops that the city is forcing developers to jump through, before Mayor Domenic Sarno decides which project to back or whether to send both to a referendum and possible consideration by the state gambling commission. The hearing is expected to last four to five hours....
MGM and Penn in November concluded a nearly $100 million battle in Maryland, the most expensive political campaign in the state’s history, over a ballot question to expand casino gambling in the state. MGM supported the measure, under which the company has proposed a new Maryland casino just outside Washington, D.C. Penn financed much of the opposition, saying the ballot question left the company — which owns a racetrack in the state — at a disadvantage in bidding to build a new casino; analysts, however, have suggested Penn’s opposition was rooted in trying to protect its West Virginia casino from more competition. Maryland voters narrowly approved the expansion.
The Maryland battle prompted some sharp words, with MGM accusing Penn of spending tens of millions of dollars to sow confusion among the voters.
Clyde Barrow, a casino specialist at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, is curious about what each company projects to collect each year in gambling revenue; he has questioned whether the Western Massachusetts casino market is lucrative enough to support an $800 million entertainment complex. “That makes me nervous,” he said.
Not a good poker player.
Not a good poker player.
State law sets a $500 million minimum investment for a casino resort license. The state gambling commission controls three resort licenses; only one of the licenses will be issued in Western Massachusetts. In addition to the Springfield competitors, the operators of Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut have proposed a gambling resort in Palmer. Two development groups are pursuing casino projects in Holyoke.
MGM’s Springfield proposal would be built on three city blocks, including areas damaged by a 2011 tornado. The company intends to keep the original MassMutual headquarters building at the corner of Main and State streets as an office. It proposes a new, 25-story hotel with spa, pool, and roof deck, some 89,000 square feet of gambling space, about 15 shops and restaurants, a parking garage for more than 3,500 cars, as well as a retail and entertainment district of about 25 shops and restaurants, a movie theater, bowling alley, and an outdoor stage.
Penn National, in partnership with local businessman Peter Picknelly, operator of Peter Pan Bus Lines, plans to build on 13.4 acres near the city’s downtown, which would include land now occupied by the offices of The Republican newspaper. Plans call for the paper to be relocated. Penn’s resort proposal includes 3,000 to 3,500 slot machines, poker rooms, up to 100 live table games, and a hotel with up to 500 rooms. The company also plans new restaurants, a 5,000-space parking garage, and up to 45,000 square feet of meeting and convention space....
Sounds great, but I'll never be going there.
Sounds great, but I'll never be going there.
"Two companies competing to develop a resort-style casino in Springfield turned in detailed plans to the city Thursday and submitted initial applications to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. The filings by MGM Resorts International and Penn National Gaming satisfy two key deadlines as they vie with Mohegan Sun for the sole casino license allocated to Western Massachusetts."
"Hard Rock reportedly in deal on Western Mass. casino" by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff, January 10, 2013
The field of competitors for the sole Western Massachusetts casino license will soon expand with the addition of Hard Rock International, which is expected to announce a deal Friday to pursue development rights at the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds in West Springfield, home of The Big E agricultural fair.
Eastern States Exposition, a nonprofit institution, has scheduled a “red carpet” luncheon Friday for a casino-related announcement. It did not release any details, though several sources said the organization has reached a deal to move forward with Hard Rock on a casino resort. Hard Rock representatives have visited the site many times, after exploring bids in Holyoke and Springfield in 2012.
Hard Rock will join a crowded competition for the Western Massachusetts casino license, competing against MGM Resorts and Penn National Gaming, which each have plans for Springfield resorts, and Mohegan Sun, which has proposed a casino in Palmer....
--more--"
"Mohegan Sun set to submit Mass. casino bid; N.Y. firm will help bankroll $600m plan for Palmer location" by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff, January 14, 2013
The owners of Mohegan Sun, defying speculation they were out of the Massachusetts casino sweepstakes, have found a new financial backer and on Monday will apply to the state’s gambling commission to build a gambling resort in Palmer, the Connecticut casino’s top executive said Sunday.
Mohegan Sun has struck a partnership with a $12 billion New York investment group, Brigade Capital Management, to bankroll the development, Mitchell Etess, chief executive of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, said in an interview.
The onetime front-runner for the sole Western Massachusetts resort casino license joins a robust field of applicants that includes MGM Resorts, Penn National Gaming, and Hard Rock International.
The revelation that Mohegan Sun has lined up a deep-pocketed investor intensifies the battle for the license, already the most sought-after in the state.
“We really know what the people in this part of the country need and want,” said Etess....
No, you don't.
--more--"
"MGM woos Springfield voters" by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff, April 10, 2013
SPRINGFIELD — Corporate bigwigs from MGM are pitching their casino project relentlessly, in television commercials, in newspaper ads, and on the Internet.
I noticed.
They have cut checks to local causes, solicited endorsements from influential groups, and have personally carried a message into several hundred community meetings: If you like our proposal, why not tell the mayor?
The attention and the money that MGM Resorts International has lavished on Springfield since August in support of the company’s $800 million proposal is part of an unprecedented citywide campaign, designed by high-octane political advisers and operatives, including President Obama’s media consultant.
“What MGM is doing in Springfield would be the template for anyone who wants go in anywhere,” marveled political strategist Anthony Cignoli.
Other communities where casinos are proposed — such as Boston, Everett and Milford — can expect similar campaigns later this year from rich gambling companies that must win a local referendum to complete their applications for a state casino license.
In Springfield, often perceived as the forgotten little brother among the state’s major cities, the personal attention from MGM has played well.
“They’re making us feel like we’re Boston,” Cignoli said....
Oh, great. You got the gun violence for it.
MGM president Bill Hornbuckle said, “If we’re going to go in, we’re going to go all in.”
***********************************
And now the turn:
The campaign was born last summer, when MGM surveyed the city’s political landscape and saw an obstacle to its planned gambling resort: A rival proposal from Penn National Gaming was perceived to have powerful local connections with city officials who intended to support just one casino project in Springfield.
MGM responded by taking its case to the voters, to build public support through a campaign guided by scientific polling of the electorate.
Some might call it manipulation.
“We have had literally over 300 grass-roots community meetings,” Hornbuckle said. “We set up an office early on, like any other good political campaign. We have a fairly substantive social media campaign. We’ve attacked it from every angle. We’ve polled it consistently to make sure our messaging was correct relative to jobs. . . . It’s a campaign that represents clearly who we now are.”
But MGM’s overpowering voice opens the firm to criticism it is trying to buy a victory and makes it clear how difficult it is for opponents — generally underfunded citizen and church groups — to compete.
A pro-ca$ino Globe didn't help.
“It’s beyond David and Goliath,” said Les Bernal, director of a national anticasino group, Stop Predatory Gambling....
MGM and Penn have each proposed pricy gambling resorts in downtown Springfield. MGM’s plan would remake several tornado-damaged blocks in the city’s South End. Penn’s proposal for the North End, offered in partnership with local businessman Peter Picknelly, chairman of Peter Pan Bus Lines, is for a hotel and casino resort on land occupied by a bus terminal and the headquarters of The Republican newspaper.
Mayor Domenic Sarno is in negotiations with both developers. He is expected to choose just one project to go forward as the city’s applicant in the race for casino development rights in Western Massachusetts. The Springfield project, if approved by voters in a referendum, would compete with proposals by Hard Rock International in West Springfield, and Mohegan Sun in Palmer.
MGM’s campaign strategy is to build enough community support to make it politically difficult for Sarno to overlook the company’s bid when deciding which casino proposal should move on to a citywide referendum and then to the state Gaming Commission. The company’s consultants include Carole Brennan, a former aide to Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston, now at the law firm Brown Rudnick; Dewey Square Group, which focuses on public affairs and political strategy; and Ventry Associates, led by local political operative Dennis Murphy, a former Springfield state representative with a keen sense of the region’s politics. MGM has also hired GMMB, the media company that twice helped Obama win the White House.
Penn National has not tried to match MGM’s advertising dollars in Springfield, a strategic decision by a company unafraid of dropping huge sums to influence a vote. MGM and Penn each spent tens of millions of dollars fighting each other in a gambling referendum last year in Maryland.
“We’re hoping the community will dig into the substance of our proposal, as opposed to the style or the fluff of a glitzy media campaign,” said Eric Schippers, a Penn senior vice president. “You’ve seen from Penn a modest ad buy to build some awareness, but most of that has been to drive people to our website where they can get a better sense of the substance of our proposal and why it’s the best plan for Springfield.”
******************************
From late last summer until early this month, records show, MGM outspent Penn $323,000 to $54,000 on ads at WWLP-TV, the Springfield station that gets the largest share of political advertising, local observers said....
MGM has also sought goodwill through high-profile charitable sponsorships and donations, such as a $50,000 gift to the South End Community Center. It has paid to support civic events such as fireworks and Christmas lights and is sponsoring the Springfield Falcons minor league hockey team, promising to donate more than 1,000 tickets to nonprofit youth and family groups in the area. Last month, MGM sponsored an issue of the local African-American news magazine, Point of View, contributing several articles on its commitment to diversity in the workplace.
Where is all that money coming from again?
The MGM effort “is exemplary in recognizing the grass roots and the grass-tops, the opinion makers and the decision makers that live in the city and need to be reached out to,” said Cignoli, who was part of a local group that tried to bring a casino to Holyoke. “I’ve talked to well over 100 folk — community council presidents and members, civic association folks, people from charitable organizations, you name it — they’ve all had personal sitdowns with MGM.”
*************************
With Penn picking up its campaign, casino advertising is inescapable in Springfield, lamented Michael Kogut, chairman of Citizens Against Casino Gaming, a local group that is resisting the proposals through community organizing.
“I was on the local AM radio station the other morning,” Kogut said recently. “Intertwined with our discussion of the reasons for not having a casino in Springfield are the ads for Penn and MGM.
“There’s no amount of money that can ever combat or overcome what the casino lobbyists and developers will spend,” he said. “This is the game they play before gaming begins.”
--more--"
Now the river, and....
"Springfield mayor picks MGM’s casino plan; State has final say for Western Mass." by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff, April 30, 2013
SPRINGFIELD — After a long and arduous competition, Mayor Domenic Sarno chose an $800 million casino plan from MGM Resorts International Tuesday as the city’s candidate for the Western Massachusetts casino license, eliminating a rival proposal from Penn National Gaming.
The mayor’s decision ended months of public lobbying and intense advertising by the gambling giants and came after a long period of parallel negotiations with the two companies.
“We had a unique opportunity to apply leverage and pressure to strike the best deal for Springfield,” Sarno said, speaking to reporters at City Hall.
As part of the deal, the company’s annual payments to the financially struggling city, including taxes and other payments, are expected to top $25 million, if the project is built.
The MGM project, if endorsed by voters in a referendum, will compete with proposals by Mohegan Sun in Palmer and Hard Rock International, for West Springfield. The state gambling commission has the final say over which company will get the state license; that decision is expected by February.
MGM overcame an initial hurdle in a community that has fielded interest from at least four gambling companies.
“Quite simply, we’re ecstatic,” MGM president Bill Hornbuckle said in a conference call with reporters. He said Sarno called him early Tuesday morning with news that MGM had won the city’s competition.
Hornbuckle said the MGM project, planned for a tornado-damaged area in the city’s South End, offered the best package of economic development and jobs to the city.
Having lost out in Springfield, Penn National could become a wildcard in the state’s fledgling gambling industry. A top executive of the wealthy casino operator insisted Tuesday that it was too soon to say whether Penn would emerge in another Massachusetts community, but acknowledged that the company could have interest in Southeastern Massachusetts, which only recently was opened to commercial casino developers.
“That may be something we want to take a look at just to understand a little bit more the nuances of that competition,” Eric Schippers, a Penn senior vice president, said in an interview.
The MGM-Penn battle in Springfield, the only community that had more than one potential applicant, provided a preview of the larger competition among casino companies that will play out later this year.
The 2011 state gambling law authorized three resort casino licenses, no more than one in each of three regions of the state, and a license for one slot parlor, which can be built anywhere. In addition to the competition in Western Massachusetts, three companies are pursuing the Greater Boston casino license, and four are chasing development rights for the slot parlor. The commission voted April 18 to lift a freeze on commercial casino development in Southeastern Massachusetts, which had been established to allow the Mashpee Wampanoag time to make progress on a tribal casino in the region. The tribe continues to pursue a tribal casino in Taunton, though skeptics say they may never overcome legal obstacles. The gambling commission will lay out a schedule in May for accepting bids in the southeast.
MGM’s offer to Springfield was comparable to Penn’s, city officials said. But MGM’s proposal won points for its open and “permeable” design, which would allow pedestrians to pass through the property to visit restaurants, shops, and entertainment without needing to go through the gambling room. Sarno’s administration was also impressed by MGM’s access to top entertainment acts and its commitment to bring them to Springfield venues, including the underused MassMutual Center auditorium.
MGM has pledged to build a 125,000-square-foot casino with at least 3,000 slot machines and 75 game tables, a 250-room upscale hotel, meeting and convention space, retail shops, 54 market-rate apartments, a cinema, bowling alley, restaurants, an outdoor plaza, and parking for at least 3,600 cars.
Sarno hopes to schedule a mid-July public referendum.
“This is our moment,” he said. “This is our time. We need to rally behind this game-changing development. MGM has assured me they will make this the marquee project in an urban setting in America.”
Michael Kogut — chairman of Citizens Against Casino Gaming, a group resisting the proposal — said that “the game-changing element is just bringing further woes to an already decaying urban center. A gaming center is not going to lift the spirits, the pockets, or the economy of the city of Springfield.”
Kogut said opponents will push to delay the casino referendum until after the summer vacation season, to provide more time for public debate.
If MGM wins the license, the company has committed to finishing the project within 33 months, though Hornbuckle said it could be built more quickly, perhaps in as few as 26 months. If the commission awards development rights in early 2014, MGM would expect to open the resort in 2016.
In addition to MGM and Penn, Springfield fielded serious interest from at least two other companies. Ameristar bought land for a gambling resort, but abandoned the project when it seemed clear Sarno preferred a downtown location. Hard Rock also pursued a site in downtown Springfield, before making a proposal at the Big E fairgrounds.
--more--"
"Hard Rock reportedly in deal on Western Mass. casino" by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff, January 10, 2013
The field of competitors for the sole Western Massachusetts casino license will soon expand with the addition of Hard Rock International, which is expected to announce a deal Friday to pursue development rights at the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds in West Springfield, home of The Big E agricultural fair.
Eastern States Exposition, a nonprofit institution, has scheduled a “red carpet” luncheon Friday for a casino-related announcement. It did not release any details, though several sources said the organization has reached a deal to move forward with Hard Rock on a casino resort. Hard Rock representatives have visited the site many times, after exploring bids in Holyoke and Springfield in 2012.
Hard Rock will join a crowded competition for the Western Massachusetts casino license, competing against MGM Resorts and Penn National Gaming, which each have plans for Springfield resorts, and Mohegan Sun, which has proposed a casino in Palmer....
--more--"
"Mohegan Sun set to submit Mass. casino bid; N.Y. firm will help bankroll $600m plan for Palmer location" by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff, January 14, 2013
The owners of Mohegan Sun, defying speculation they were out of the Massachusetts casino sweepstakes, have found a new financial backer and on Monday will apply to the state’s gambling commission to build a gambling resort in Palmer, the Connecticut casino’s top executive said Sunday.
Mohegan Sun has struck a partnership with a $12 billion New York investment group, Brigade Capital Management, to bankroll the development, Mitchell Etess, chief executive of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, said in an interview.
The onetime front-runner for the sole Western Massachusetts resort casino license joins a robust field of applicants that includes MGM Resorts, Penn National Gaming, and Hard Rock International.
The revelation that Mohegan Sun has lined up a deep-pocketed investor intensifies the battle for the license, already the most sought-after in the state.
“We really know what the people in this part of the country need and want,” said Etess....
No, you don't.
--more--"
"MGM woos Springfield voters" by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff, April 10, 2013
SPRINGFIELD — Corporate bigwigs from MGM are pitching their casino project relentlessly, in television commercials, in newspaper ads, and on the Internet.
I noticed.
They have cut checks to local causes, solicited endorsements from influential groups, and have personally carried a message into several hundred community meetings: If you like our proposal, why not tell the mayor?
The attention and the money that MGM Resorts International has lavished on Springfield since August in support of the company’s $800 million proposal is part of an unprecedented citywide campaign, designed by high-octane political advisers and operatives, including President Obama’s media consultant.
“What MGM is doing in Springfield would be the template for anyone who wants go in anywhere,” marveled political strategist Anthony Cignoli.
Other communities where casinos are proposed — such as Boston, Everett and Milford — can expect similar campaigns later this year from rich gambling companies that must win a local referendum to complete their applications for a state casino license.
In Springfield, often perceived as the forgotten little brother among the state’s major cities, the personal attention from MGM has played well.
“They’re making us feel like we’re Boston,” Cignoli said....
Oh, great. You got the gun violence for it.
MGM president Bill Hornbuckle said, “If we’re going to go in, we’re going to go all in.”
***********************************
And now the turn:
The campaign was born last summer, when MGM surveyed the city’s political landscape and saw an obstacle to its planned gambling resort: A rival proposal from Penn National Gaming was perceived to have powerful local connections with city officials who intended to support just one casino project in Springfield.
MGM responded by taking its case to the voters, to build public support through a campaign guided by scientific polling of the electorate.
Some might call it manipulation.
“We have had literally over 300 grass-roots community meetings,” Hornbuckle said. “We set up an office early on, like any other good political campaign. We have a fairly substantive social media campaign. We’ve attacked it from every angle. We’ve polled it consistently to make sure our messaging was correct relative to jobs. . . . It’s a campaign that represents clearly who we now are.”
But MGM’s overpowering voice opens the firm to criticism it is trying to buy a victory and makes it clear how difficult it is for opponents — generally underfunded citizen and church groups — to compete.
A pro-ca$ino Globe didn't help.
“It’s beyond David and Goliath,” said Les Bernal, director of a national anticasino group, Stop Predatory Gambling....
MGM and Penn have each proposed pricy gambling resorts in downtown Springfield. MGM’s plan would remake several tornado-damaged blocks in the city’s South End. Penn’s proposal for the North End, offered in partnership with local businessman Peter Picknelly, chairman of Peter Pan Bus Lines, is for a hotel and casino resort on land occupied by a bus terminal and the headquarters of The Republican newspaper.
Mayor Domenic Sarno is in negotiations with both developers. He is expected to choose just one project to go forward as the city’s applicant in the race for casino development rights in Western Massachusetts. The Springfield project, if approved by voters in a referendum, would compete with proposals by Hard Rock International in West Springfield, and Mohegan Sun in Palmer.
MGM’s campaign strategy is to build enough community support to make it politically difficult for Sarno to overlook the company’s bid when deciding which casino proposal should move on to a citywide referendum and then to the state Gaming Commission. The company’s consultants include Carole Brennan, a former aide to Mayor Thomas Menino of Boston, now at the law firm Brown Rudnick; Dewey Square Group, which focuses on public affairs and political strategy; and Ventry Associates, led by local political operative Dennis Murphy, a former Springfield state representative with a keen sense of the region’s politics. MGM has also hired GMMB, the media company that twice helped Obama win the White House.
Penn National has not tried to match MGM’s advertising dollars in Springfield, a strategic decision by a company unafraid of dropping huge sums to influence a vote. MGM and Penn each spent tens of millions of dollars fighting each other in a gambling referendum last year in Maryland.
“We’re hoping the community will dig into the substance of our proposal, as opposed to the style or the fluff of a glitzy media campaign,” said Eric Schippers, a Penn senior vice president. “You’ve seen from Penn a modest ad buy to build some awareness, but most of that has been to drive people to our website where they can get a better sense of the substance of our proposal and why it’s the best plan for Springfield.”
******************************
From late last summer until early this month, records show, MGM outspent Penn $323,000 to $54,000 on ads at WWLP-TV, the Springfield station that gets the largest share of political advertising, local observers said....
MGM has also sought goodwill through high-profile charitable sponsorships and donations, such as a $50,000 gift to the South End Community Center. It has paid to support civic events such as fireworks and Christmas lights and is sponsoring the Springfield Falcons minor league hockey team, promising to donate more than 1,000 tickets to nonprofit youth and family groups in the area. Last month, MGM sponsored an issue of the local African-American news magazine, Point of View, contributing several articles on its commitment to diversity in the workplace.
Where is all that money coming from again?
The MGM effort “is exemplary in recognizing the grass roots and the grass-tops, the opinion makers and the decision makers that live in the city and need to be reached out to,” said Cignoli, who was part of a local group that tried to bring a casino to Holyoke. “I’ve talked to well over 100 folk — community council presidents and members, civic association folks, people from charitable organizations, you name it — they’ve all had personal sitdowns with MGM.”
*************************
With Penn picking up its campaign, casino advertising is inescapable in Springfield, lamented Michael Kogut, chairman of Citizens Against Casino Gaming, a local group that is resisting the proposals through community organizing.
“I was on the local AM radio station the other morning,” Kogut said recently. “Intertwined with our discussion of the reasons for not having a casino in Springfield are the ads for Penn and MGM.
“There’s no amount of money that can ever combat or overcome what the casino lobbyists and developers will spend,” he said. “This is the game they play before gaming begins.”
--more--"
Now the river, and....
"Springfield mayor picks MGM’s casino plan; State has final say for Western Mass." by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff, April 30, 2013
SPRINGFIELD — After a long and arduous competition, Mayor Domenic Sarno chose an $800 million casino plan from MGM Resorts International Tuesday as the city’s candidate for the Western Massachusetts casino license, eliminating a rival proposal from Penn National Gaming.
The mayor’s decision ended months of public lobbying and intense advertising by the gambling giants and came after a long period of parallel negotiations with the two companies.
“We had a unique opportunity to apply leverage and pressure to strike the best deal for Springfield,” Sarno said, speaking to reporters at City Hall.
As part of the deal, the company’s annual payments to the financially struggling city, including taxes and other payments, are expected to top $25 million, if the project is built.
The MGM project, if endorsed by voters in a referendum, will compete with proposals by Mohegan Sun in Palmer and Hard Rock International, for West Springfield. The state gambling commission has the final say over which company will get the state license; that decision is expected by February.
MGM overcame an initial hurdle in a community that has fielded interest from at least four gambling companies.
“Quite simply, we’re ecstatic,” MGM president Bill Hornbuckle said in a conference call with reporters. He said Sarno called him early Tuesday morning with news that MGM had won the city’s competition.
Hornbuckle said the MGM project, planned for a tornado-damaged area in the city’s South End, offered the best package of economic development and jobs to the city.
Having lost out in Springfield, Penn National could become a wildcard in the state’s fledgling gambling industry. A top executive of the wealthy casino operator insisted Tuesday that it was too soon to say whether Penn would emerge in another Massachusetts community, but acknowledged that the company could have interest in Southeastern Massachusetts, which only recently was opened to commercial casino developers.
“That may be something we want to take a look at just to understand a little bit more the nuances of that competition,” Eric Schippers, a Penn senior vice president, said in an interview.
The MGM-Penn battle in Springfield, the only community that had more than one potential applicant, provided a preview of the larger competition among casino companies that will play out later this year.
The 2011 state gambling law authorized three resort casino licenses, no more than one in each of three regions of the state, and a license for one slot parlor, which can be built anywhere. In addition to the competition in Western Massachusetts, three companies are pursuing the Greater Boston casino license, and four are chasing development rights for the slot parlor. The commission voted April 18 to lift a freeze on commercial casino development in Southeastern Massachusetts, which had been established to allow the Mashpee Wampanoag time to make progress on a tribal casino in the region. The tribe continues to pursue a tribal casino in Taunton, though skeptics say they may never overcome legal obstacles. The gambling commission will lay out a schedule in May for accepting bids in the southeast.
MGM’s offer to Springfield was comparable to Penn’s, city officials said. But MGM’s proposal won points for its open and “permeable” design, which would allow pedestrians to pass through the property to visit restaurants, shops, and entertainment without needing to go through the gambling room. Sarno’s administration was also impressed by MGM’s access to top entertainment acts and its commitment to bring them to Springfield venues, including the underused MassMutual Center auditorium.
MGM has pledged to build a 125,000-square-foot casino with at least 3,000 slot machines and 75 game tables, a 250-room upscale hotel, meeting and convention space, retail shops, 54 market-rate apartments, a cinema, bowling alley, restaurants, an outdoor plaza, and parking for at least 3,600 cars.
Sarno hopes to schedule a mid-July public referendum.
“This is our moment,” he said. “This is our time. We need to rally behind this game-changing development. MGM has assured me they will make this the marquee project in an urban setting in America.”
Michael Kogut — chairman of Citizens Against Casino Gaming, a group resisting the proposal — said that “the game-changing element is just bringing further woes to an already decaying urban center. A gaming center is not going to lift the spirits, the pockets, or the economy of the city of Springfield.”
Kogut said opponents will push to delay the casino referendum until after the summer vacation season, to provide more time for public debate.
If MGM wins the license, the company has committed to finishing the project within 33 months, though Hornbuckle said it could be built more quickly, perhaps in as few as 26 months. If the commission awards development rights in early 2014, MGM would expect to open the resort in 2016.
In addition to MGM and Penn, Springfield fielded serious interest from at least two other companies. Ameristar bought land for a gambling resort, but abandoned the project when it seemed clear Sarno preferred a downtown location. Hard Rock also pursued a site in downtown Springfield, before making a proposal at the Big E fairgrounds.
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"Be wary of casinos, tourism official tells employers" by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff August 09, 2012
SPRINGFIELD — A word of warning to business owners in the hotel and hospitality industries: Casinos will be coming for your employees.
“Give them some love; up their pay a little bit,” Speros A. Batistatos, a business leader who helped lure casino developers to Indiana, said at a Western Massachusetts gambling forum Wednesday. Other wise, those employees “will leave you, and everything you have invested in that person will walk out the door,” he said.
Bankers should not be too comfortable, either, Batistatos said. “Bank tellers, people who handle cash, are going to be highly sought after.”
Batistatos, president and chief executive of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority in Hammond, Ind., offered the advice in remarks to the state gambling commission at the latest in a series of educational forums the panel is hosting around the state. Topics at the forum, held on the campus of Western New England University, included tourism, workplace development, and mitigating the effects of casinos in the community.
The business of casinos is to keep customers within its walls, at the gambling tables and on the slot machines, said Batistatos. “The casino on its own is going to bring in a lot of visitors,” he said. “The casino on its own is not going to change your hospitality industry. . . . Every day we talk about how do we get people from the [casinos] into downtown.”
Business owners and organizations need to be aggressive, he said, to tap into a casino’s stream of visitors....
Before the forum, commissioners saw the first significant public protests at one of their traveling events.
“No dice, Springfield!” shouted gambling opponents who want to keep a casino out of their city.
“Roll the dice, Palmer!” chanted supporters eager to have a casino development in their town, rather than in Springfield.
The protests showed the wide array of competing interests in the casino debate in Western Massachusetts, the only region of the state that currently has a vibrant competition among casino companies. The operators of Mohegan Sun in Connecticut are proposing a casino in Palmer. Four companies have their sights set on Springfield: Ameristar, MGM Resorts, Hard Rock International, and Penn National Gaming.
“If we have to have a casino in the area, let it go to Palmer,” said Michele Lamountain, a Springfield resident demonstrating against the gambling proposals in her city.
James St. Amand of Palmer was one of several dozen demonstrators sporting a pale yellow “Palmer First” T-shirt, in support of the Mohegan Sun proposal for a resort casino in the town.
“We need the revenue so we can rehire police, fire, and school teachers and reduce taxes,” he said.
Well, taxes are going up at the state level anyway.
--more--"
“Give them some love; up their pay a little bit,” Speros A. Batistatos, a business leader who helped lure casino developers to Indiana, said at a Western Massachusetts gambling forum Wednesday. Other wise, those employees “will leave you, and everything you have invested in that person will walk out the door,” he said.
Bankers should not be too comfortable, either, Batistatos said. “Bank tellers, people who handle cash, are going to be highly sought after.”
Batistatos, president and chief executive of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority in Hammond, Ind., offered the advice in remarks to the state gambling commission at the latest in a series of educational forums the panel is hosting around the state. Topics at the forum, held on the campus of Western New England University, included tourism, workplace development, and mitigating the effects of casinos in the community.
The business of casinos is to keep customers within its walls, at the gambling tables and on the slot machines, said Batistatos. “The casino on its own is going to bring in a lot of visitors,” he said. “The casino on its own is not going to change your hospitality industry. . . . Every day we talk about how do we get people from the [casinos] into downtown.”
Business owners and organizations need to be aggressive, he said, to tap into a casino’s stream of visitors....
Before the forum, commissioners saw the first significant public protests at one of their traveling events.
“No dice, Springfield!” shouted gambling opponents who want to keep a casino out of their city.
“Roll the dice, Palmer!” chanted supporters eager to have a casino development in their town, rather than in Springfield.
The protests showed the wide array of competing interests in the casino debate in Western Massachusetts, the only region of the state that currently has a vibrant competition among casino companies. The operators of Mohegan Sun in Connecticut are proposing a casino in Palmer. Four companies have their sights set on Springfield: Ameristar, MGM Resorts, Hard Rock International, and Penn National Gaming.
“If we have to have a casino in the area, let it go to Palmer,” said Michele Lamountain, a Springfield resident demonstrating against the gambling proposals in her city.
James St. Amand of Palmer was one of several dozen demonstrators sporting a pale yellow “Palmer First” T-shirt, in support of the Mohegan Sun proposal for a resort casino in the town.
“We need the revenue so we can rehire police, fire, and school teachers and reduce taxes,” he said.
Well, taxes are going up at the state level anyway.
--more--"
"Springfield newspaper becomes part of casino story" by Mark Arsenault | Globe Staff, August 05, 2012
The critical public debate over possible casino sites in Springfield will be missing one of the city’s most prominent voices, as The Republican newspaper has silenced its editorial opinions on the issue due to a conflict of interest.
The venerable Republican, long a paper of record in Western Massachusetts, is entertaining an offer from companies connected to Springfield businessman Peter Picknelly, chairman of Peter Pan Bus Lines, who wants buy the newspaper’s property to build a casino.
Critics warn that the pending offer, which The Republican disclosed in its pages, could undermine confidence in its coverage of the hotly contested casino sweepstakes in Springfield, where as many as four companies are vying for a license.
There isn't much more undermining U.$. media can take.
There isn't much more undermining U.$. media can take.
“To me it’s pretty clear on its face — you have a moneyed interest in something you’re covering, so how do you do that?” said Nicholas McBride, a professor of journalism at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “Will favoritism seep in?”
I'm not going to put up those four links again.
I'm not going to put up those four links again.
George Arwady, publisher of the nearly 200-year-old newspaper, acknowledged in a Globe interview that “it’s awkward for a newspaper anywhere” to become involved in a story, but insists that decisions on news coverage will be insulated from the paper’s business interests....
The bu$ine$$ interests are their intere$t$.
The bu$ine$$ interests are their intere$t$.
--more--""
Interesting. I guess I am getting the right paper when it comes to casino.
