Bridgewater casino may ride on Raynham slots outcome
By Rebecca Hyman
Posted Nov 22, 2013
Bridgewater —
Claremont Companies Vice President Patrick Carney Jr. said his firm is unlikely to move forward with a casino proposal in Bridgewater if Raynham is awarded the state’s sole slots license.
“The slots license is going to decide a lot,” Carney said after the Bridgewater Town Council meeting Tuesday.
But Carney said he thinks all three slots contenders — Raynham, Plainville and Leominster — have an equal shot at the license, giving Raynham less than even odds of coming out on top.
Carney said he thinks the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would be unlikely to award two licenses so close together on the map as Raynham and Bridgewater.
And because of that it would be hard for Claremont to attract a partner for a Bridgewater casino if Raynham gets the slots license, he said.
The state’s Expanded Gaming Act of 2011, allows for a total of three commercial resort casinos and one slot parlor statewide.
The Gaming Commission hasn’t set an exact date but has said it expects to award the slots license sometime in January.
Claremont is in active talks with several potential casino operators to partner with on the project, Carney said.
Sept. 30 was the deadline for commercial applicants to submit their non-refundable $400,000 application fees to vie for the Southeastern Massachusetts casino license.
Claremont did not submit an application but announced its intention to “partner” with existing applicants to build a casino on its 171-acre site across from Lake Nippenicket in Bridgewater.
The developers who already applied for the other two regional casino licenses and the slots license are exempt from the deadline. And Claremont will be exempt as well if it teams up with any of the existing applicants on a Bridgewater casino.
September 30 was the Phase I deadline of the application process, which focuses on the suitability of the applicant. Phase II focuses on site-specific proposals and those applications are due between March and July, 2014 and must contain a completed host community agreement between the town and applicant and referendum approval by voters.
The Gaming Commission is expected to issue the license in November, 2014 — if it issues a commercial casino license in Southeastern Massachusetts at all.
The state gaming law gives the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, who hope to build a casino in East Taunton under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, exclusivity in the southeast region as long as it appears the tribe can meet federal requirements.
But the state Gaming Commission opened up the region to commercial bidders in April amid growing uncertainty the tribe would get federal approval to place land in trust.
At the same time, the commission has not yet determined whether it will actually award a commercial license in this region. Meanwhile, the Mashpee are free to continue pursuing a tribal casino under federal law, a scenario that could result in two casinos in Southeastern Massachusetts and four statewide.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/bridgewater/news/x2132759063/Bridgewater-casino-may-ride-on-Raynham-slots-outcome
“The slots license is going to decide a lot,” Carney said after the Bridgewater Town Council meeting Tuesday.
But Carney said he thinks all three slots contenders — Raynham, Plainville and Leominster — have an equal shot at the license, giving Raynham less than even odds of coming out on top.
Carney said he thinks the Massachusetts Gaming Commission would be unlikely to award two licenses so close together on the map as Raynham and Bridgewater.
And because of that it would be hard for Claremont to attract a partner for a Bridgewater casino if Raynham gets the slots license, he said.
The state’s Expanded Gaming Act of 2011, allows for a total of three commercial resort casinos and one slot parlor statewide.
The Gaming Commission hasn’t set an exact date but has said it expects to award the slots license sometime in January.
Claremont is in active talks with several potential casino operators to partner with on the project, Carney said.
Sept. 30 was the deadline for commercial applicants to submit their non-refundable $400,000 application fees to vie for the Southeastern Massachusetts casino license.
Claremont did not submit an application but announced its intention to “partner” with existing applicants to build a casino on its 171-acre site across from Lake Nippenicket in Bridgewater.
The developers who already applied for the other two regional casino licenses and the slots license are exempt from the deadline. And Claremont will be exempt as well if it teams up with any of the existing applicants on a Bridgewater casino.
September 30 was the Phase I deadline of the application process, which focuses on the suitability of the applicant. Phase II focuses on site-specific proposals and those applications are due between March and July, 2014 and must contain a completed host community agreement between the town and applicant and referendum approval by voters.
The Gaming Commission is expected to issue the license in November, 2014 — if it issues a commercial casino license in Southeastern Massachusetts at all.
The state gaming law gives the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, who hope to build a casino in East Taunton under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, exclusivity in the southeast region as long as it appears the tribe can meet federal requirements.
But the state Gaming Commission opened up the region to commercial bidders in April amid growing uncertainty the tribe would get federal approval to place land in trust.
At the same time, the commission has not yet determined whether it will actually award a commercial license in this region. Meanwhile, the Mashpee are free to continue pursuing a tribal casino under federal law, a scenario that could result in two casinos in Southeastern Massachusetts and four statewide.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/bridgewater/news/x2132759063/Bridgewater-casino-may-ride-on-Raynham-slots-outcome
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