The Massachusetts Gambling Commission will adopt a 2-step process.
The first part of that process will require Gambling Investors to submit financial and background information. That process from advertising to completion will take + 9 months.
That 2-step process will eliminate unqualified candidates before major investments are required.
David Nunes has no $$$$.
Bill Warner and Warner Gaming LLC has no $$$$. Warner's experience is ???? Paleeze! Station filed for bankruptcy.
This Boston Globe reporter has failed to even conduct a simple internet search that would have revealed the information at the bottom. Please do your homework!
Residents keep door open for casino plan
By Lisa Kocian
Globe Staff / June 3, 2012
Although a proposed Milford casino’s competition for a state license seems to be falling away, that hasn’t made the path for the Crossroads Resort any clearer.
Last month, Las Vegas magnate Steve Wynn dropped plans for a casino next to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, after candidates opposed to it were elected to the Board of Selectmen. And Boston native Sheldon Adelson, owner of the Venetian in Las Vegas, also recently confirmed that he would not pursue a casino license in Massachusetts.
David Nunes, the developer behind Crossroads, said neither announcement surprised him. He said he expected the Foxborough collapse all along.
“Those that follow this closely, as I have, realize Foxborough was going to be a tough sell,” he said. “When a community gets its back up, especially in New England, and says this is not what we want, you can pretty much take it to the bank.”
Such opposition — except from surrounding towns — has been essentially absent in Milford, where town leaders say their constituents are voicing openness to the idea. Residents of nearby communities, such as Holliston and Hopkinton, don’t get a vote. Milford’s referendum, still many months away, would be binding.
Crossroads’ biggest competition for the region’s casino license, Suffolk Downs in East Boston, might have an edge as an established gambling facility, but it also has more vocal opposition than the Milford project.
“The vast majority of people in Milford are pretty content to look at the situation and say: ‘It’s a business. If it comes forward, let’s evaluate it,’” said state Representative John Fernandes, a Democrat who represents Milford.
He said what happened in Foxborough is a good indication that the community really does get a voice.
“I think Foxborough may have given everybody the comfort level, ‘Yeah the statute does work,’ ” said Fernandes.
He also noted that even without opposition, there is still a long list of potential problems that have to be resolved for the Milford project to work.
Water is a question, he said, as is traffic, and the mitigation that any host community would require.
“I’ve always thought that these things are lightning in a bottle,” said Fernandes. “Irrespective of the competition, even if there was no competition, I think the proposal in Milford is a difficult one.”
Brian Murray, chairman of the Milford Board of Selectmen, said he is hearing from townspeople who say they are keeping an open mind on the casino proposal.
“I think mostly the people I’m talking to are favorable to the idea of looking at it,” he said. “Most of the folks I’ve been talking to or that stop me are open to the idea of examining it or considering it.”
Murray said he sees his role as making sure voters have a detailed proposal to consider before they go to the ballot box.
“I think I see the role now of the Board of Selectmen as trying to have this developer put forth the most comprehensive and complete proposal that he can, with enough evaluation on the town’s end so that the townspeople can have an informed vote on the issue,” he said.
It’s not clear yet how much detail Nunes — or any developer — will provide. Nunes said some information may be limited by competitive nature of the process, with one casino license up for grabs in Eastern Massachusetts.
“I think we’ll talk in general parameters,” he said.
The Crossroads proposal already shared with the town calls for an $850 million complex that would feature a 176,000-square-foot gambling floor, a 350-room hotel, and 60,000 square feet of restaurants and retail shops.
Nunes said he is focused on working out financing, and hopes to announce the entire team for his project in the next three to four months.
The only other partner that has been publicly announced is Bill Warner of Warner Gaming, which operates the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/06/03/milford_casino_lacks_opposition_but_still_has_a_long_road_ahead/
Lisa Kocian can be reached at lkocian@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeLisaKocian.
June 14, 2010 9:52 AM
Warner Gaming withdraws application to manage Greektown Casino Hotel
Two parties gain ownership, control of Hard Rock Hotel
By Chris Sieroty
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: Feb. 24, 2011
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and Warner Gaming LLC were granted ownership and operational control of the Hard Rock Hotel on Thursday after state gaming regulators approved their takeover plans.
...the foreclosure and bankruptcy of a Las Vegas hotel-casino.
The Hard Rock Hotel had been struggling to meet its obligations on $1.25 billion in debt. After the deal closes Tuesday, the Hard Rock will have a restructured debt obligation of $898 million.
Under the agreement, ownership of the property will transfer LVHR Casino Inc., a subsidiary of Brookfield, while management of the property will be transferred to Warner Gaming.
Warner Gaming founder William Warner assured the commission that his 14 years with Station Casinos Inc. prepared him for managing a property the size of the Hard Rock Hotel.
[Station went bankrupt!]
....rival developer David Nunes (left). Several years ago, he was something of a local hero to Milford. Now he’s on the verge of getting laughed out of town. Nunes has talked big ($700 million, 5,000 slots, etc.) but hasn’t flashed any cash, giving rise to skepticism amongst the selectmen. If the proposed design of Crossroads Casino looks like a rejected rendering that was fished out of a Station Casinos wastebasket, small wonder: mooted operator Warner Gaming is largely comprised of executive refugees from Station. (“Sunset Milford”? “Milford Station”?) Don’t expect Warner to rescue Nunes. It’s strictly a manager (primarily of Las Vegas‘ hard-luck Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, whose owner — Credit Suisse — was affiliated with the project three years ago). It’s not a financier. As for its design sensibility, I guess you can take the executive out of Station but you can’t Station out of the exec.
http://dmckee.lvablog.com/?p=9103
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