Suffolk Downs races to rein in new partner
LOTS OF UPS AND DOWNS: Signs for and against the proposed Suffolk Downs casino abound in East Boston neighborhoods. Suffolk Downs officials are racing to secure a new casino company partner before the Nov. 5 referendum on the proposal.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Suffolk Downs, under pressure to lock down a new gaming partner before a do-or-die Nov. 5 vote on the $1 billion project, is in talks with at least four casino companies potentially interested in joining forces as shockwaves from last week’s bombshell Caesars disqualification continue to reverberate throughout the industry.
“We are in active conversations and encouraged by the high level of interest from top-class gaming operators,” Suffolk Downs Chief Operating Officer Chip Tuttle told the Herald last night.
“The most important thing is that we find someone that is suitable for the gaming commission and is accepted by Boston and Revere.”
Sources close to the situation said four companies are at the top of Suffolk Downs’ wish list, including three that have already been deemed suitable by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission: Penn National Gaming, which is seeking a slots license for Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville; Rush Street Gaming, a Chicago-based company that had been pursuing a slots parlor in the Worcester area; and Cordish, a Baltimore firm that wants to build a slots palace in Leominster.
[What a card! A SLOT BARN is ow a SLOTS PALACE! He's not biased...No!]
The fourth, Hard Rock, had been pursuing a casino in West Springfield, but the project was rejected by voters.
The company, which runs the Seminole Hard Rock Casinos in Tampa and Hollywood, Fla., has not been vetted by the state gaming panel.
Hard Rock and Cordish already have strong ties to Suffolk Downs owner Richard Fields, who worked with Cordish to co-develop the Florida Hard Rock casinos.
Rush Street Gaming honcho Neil Bluhm, meanwhile, has strong Boston ties as one of the developers of Copley Place and Faneuil Hall. He also runs successful urban casinos in Chicago, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
A Penn National spokesman said he would not comment on “rumor,” while a Rush Street spokeswoman declined to comment. Officials from Hard Rock and Cordish did not respond to requests for comment.
“Suffolk Downs has to get a partner to put this behind them,” said City Council President Stephen J. Murphy. “That’s going to be the most important thing. I think they’ll have one by the end of the week.”
“I’d like to see the casino part decided by the vote. I would say as quickly as possible,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
Suffolk Downs launched a new TV ad today touting the project and assuring supporters that the Caesars split is not a deal killer.
“There are thousands of elements to this proposal and the gaming operator was only one,” Tuttle said.Suffolk Downs abruptly parted ways Friday with Las Vegas gaming giant Caesars over issues raised in a 900-page gaming commission background report, including reputed Russian mob ties to a Caesars business partner. Officials at Caesars — the largest casino company in the world — have blasted the findings and say it sets an impossible standard for international companies.
- See more at: http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/10/suffolk_downs_races_to_rein_in_new_partner#sthash.9KGiBF1Y.dpuf
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment