Slots Companies Pitch Massachusetts Gaming Regulators
The battle to gain casino licensing in the state of Massachusetts has been waging hot all year long, and as the year draws nearer to a close, the competition shows no sign of abating.
The state plans to hand out three licenses for Las Vegas-style casino resorts in addition to one for a slots only parlor early next year, and this week three companies who are all competing for the sole slots license had a chance to pitch their ideas before state gambling regulators, according to the Boston Globe.
Monday’s meeting kicked off license competition for real
The meeting held this past Monday allowed the three companies who have made it to this point in the process – Penn National, Raynham Park, and Cordish Cos. – to make their final pitches in a 90-minute address.
The companies reportedly showed montages not only of their past successes in the gaming industry, but also presented images of the properties they intend to develop as well as revenue projections relating to their respective plans.
First step was public vote
Under the terms of Massachusetts law, all three companies were required to be approved by local voters in public referendums before becoming eligible for consideration by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
The referendums specifically pertained to the host agreements struck between the companies and the communities in which they plan to locate the slots parlor. Those agreements deal with such things as tax rates and payments to the respective cities as well as infrastructural issues like the need for additional roads, public transit, and police and fire protection.
Companies see big things for the state
Massachusetts, which passed its casino expansion law in 2011, is positioning itself to be a major force in New England’s gambling industry, a move that has some of its neighboring states worried.
Nearby Connecticut, the home of both Foxwoods and the massive Mohegan Sun, is mulling allowing access to video gambling in the face of what will almost certainly be enormous pressure from Massachusetts once its new casino properties are up and running.
For his part, Caesars CEO Gary Loveman, himself a native son of Boston, remarked recently that he sees Boston as being the next great American gambling city, to be rivaled only by Las Vegas. Caesars, in partnership with Suffolk Downs, is in contention for the lone Boston-area resort casino license the state will be issuing.
Poaching within borders also a concern
And while states around the nation are keeping a close watch on one another as they vie for the same pool of gambling customers, the same kind of competition for gamblers and their attendant revenue can also rear up within the borders of a state, something that officials in Massachusetts must acknowledge when considering the various applicants.
Penn National pointed out, in an effort to make its own bid attractive to state gaming regulators, that its out of the way location would be beneficial to the other casino properties planned for the Bay State as it would bring in revenue without poaching customers from in-state casinos.
If approved, Penn National intends to diversify its existing racetrack business to build a slots facility at Plainridge. According to the company, a sports pub branded with the likeness of legendary New England Patriots Quarterback Doug Flutie is planned for the slots parlor, should the company win the much sought after license.
Senior vice president of operations for Penn National, Jay Snowden, said that he considered Plainridge’s far-flung location to be advantageous as gamblers might prefer it to the older casinos in Connecticut.
“We view our location as the last line of defense,” Snowden was quoted as saying.
Cordish Cos. and Raynham intend to locate their slots parlors, if either is given the thumbs up from state regulators, in Leominster and Raynham, respectively.
