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Saturday, May 31, 2014

‘Compulsive gambling destroys lives’



‘Compulsive gambling destroys lives’


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Niall McNamee, speaking to students on the problems of gambling.
STUDENTS at South West College, Omagh this week heard how compulsive gambling can utterly devastate lives. 

In a powerful testimony to students, Offaly GAA player Niall McNamee told how gambling was not only destroying his own life but also devastating his family and those closest to him. 

The event was organised by Tyrone and Greencastle Ladies star Eimear Teague GAA who facilitates the Sports course at the college. 

She explained, “Part of the course is a module called ‘health promotion’ and issues that arose included mental health issues, alcohol and drug misuse and it briefly came up about gambling. 
“We carried out a survey in the college and it was evident 68 per cent knew somebody they felt they had a gambling addiction.
The students also put together a promotional DVD on the topic.” Admiration The audience at the South West College expressed their admiration for the honesty and courage Niall showed in carrying the message that gambling can destroy lives. 
He also spoke of hope and help, for the compulsive gambler. 
Today he stays abstinent with the help of a support group, people who have been through the same experiences and with whom he can find identification and a shared strength.
Niall also emphasised that although he has not gambled since November 2011, every day he renews his commitment to staying abstinent – one day at a time – as he is still a compulsive gambler and “not cured.” 
He added, “I am very passionate about this and have a very fulfilling life. There is plenty of help out there. I have a close group I can ring every day. 
There are support groups for compulsive gamblers all over the country.”       - See more at: http://ulsterherald.com/2014/05/30/compulsive-gambling-destroys-lives/#sthash.Ykak4VaQ.dpuf



- See more at: http://ulsterherald.com/2014/05/30/compulsive-gambling-destroys-lives/#sthash.Ykak4VaQ.dpuf



Caesars lawsuit against gaming commission chief dismissed...for now




The lawsuit was filed in December, two months after Suffolk Downs dropped Caesars as a partner in a $1 billion casino venture at the East Boston racetrack, over concern that the company would fail its mandatory state background check. Commission investigators had raised red flags about the company, including that Caesars had signed a licensing deal with a hotel chain owned in part by a businessman allegedly tied to Russian mobsters.

Caesars said in its suit that Crosby was predisposed to favor a rival casino application by Wynn Resorts because of his past business relationship with Paul Lohnes, one owner of a plot of land in Everett where Wynn has proposed a casino.

The suit cited a controversy on Crosby’s failure to immediately file a formal disclosure of his association with Lohnes. Crosby disclosed the relationship one year after he became aware of the potential conflict, according to court documents.

In December, Crosby recused himself from a commission discussion of the Everett land, and in May he removed himself from the debate about awarding the Greater Boston resort casino license.

In a highly technical, 38-page ruling, US District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton acknowledged that it would be unconstitutional for a state official to conspire to deprive an applicant of the opportunity to compete for a state license for the purpose of favoring a former business partner.

“Such actions would shock the conscience as truly outrageous and thus constitute a violation of substantive due process,” Gorton said. “Caesars can only reach that negative conclusion, however, by assuming a series of improbable inferences, themselves resting on the shaky foundation of a number of naked assertions.

“Stripped of its sensational accusations of Crosby’s nefarious motive, assertions the court does not assume to be true at this juncture, plaintiff has simply alleged a violation of procedural due process that the court considers a close call. Courts must accept well-pled facts as true but need not indulge in improbable conspiracy theories.”

Caesars strongly disagreed with the ruling.

“Caesars and the citizens of the Commonwealth deserve to know the truth about the conduct of the leader of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, whose subsequent recusal from the [Greater Boston region] selection process has further impeded implementation of the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act,” Gary Loveman, chairman and chief executive of Caesars Entertainment said in a statement issued late Friday night.

The Expanded Gaming Act, signed by the governor in 2011, allows the establishment of three resort casinos and one slot machine parlor in Massachusetts.

“Throughout his ruling, Judge Gorton acknowledges the merits of the claims made by Caesars in its lawsuit,” Caesars stated. “The opinion states that the court is ‘disturbed by Crosby’s failure to avoid the appearance of impropriety and convinced that public trust in the casino licensing process has suffered as a result.’

“The ruling further acknowledges Crosby’s ‘ethical lapses.’ The company emphatically disagrees with the court’s assertion that it is not empowered to rule on these ‘lapses.’ ”

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/05/30/caesars-suit-against-gaming-commission-chairman-crosby-dismissed/mk9LMTY7EV5aY5fGGojrsM/story.html



Friday, May 30, 2014

Bishop's blog details events leading up to Gambling Addicted priest's suicide


Bishop's blog details events leading up to priest's suicide

Partners in failed Foxwoods project file for bankruptcy



Let's not forget that Foxwoods, with declining revenues in Connecticut due to GAMBLING MARKET SATURATION, is salivating to invade Massachusetts....well...maybe Fall River....maybe New Bedford....

Partners in failed Foxwoods project file for bankruptcy

Posted: April 03, 2014 
PHILADELPHIA The partnership behind the failed Foxwoods Casino project in South Philadelphia filed Monday for bankruptcy court protection, citing claims of $23.6 million from 14 creditors.

In addition, Citizens Bank, the largest creditor, is owed an unspecified amount, according to the court petition. People familiar with the situation say the bank lent the project about $75 million.

The partnership last week sold its largest asset, a vacant 16.5-acre lot on South Columbus Boulevard between Tasker and Reed Streets. The property was transferred to developer Bart Blatstein for $13 million.

Of the proceeds, $8 million went to the City of Philadelphia to settle a tax bill.

The land sale came more than seven years after the Foxwoods Casino project was awarded a license to open a slot-machine parlor in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Entertainment and Development Partners (PEDP), which included 13 local investors and the Mashantucket Pequot tribe of Connecticut, spent $50 million for the license.

But after repeated delays and problems with financing, the state's Gaming Control Board revoked the license in 2010 - and the state kept the $50 million license fee. The partnership tried unsuccessfully to retrieve the money through state courts.

Brian Ford, a PEDP representative, said that if the bankruptcy petition is accepted, the group will try to recover the licensing fee through action in federal court.

Ford, a casino-industry consultant who worked on the Foxwoods project, said the licensing fee was the partnership's only "contingent asset."

The creditors include five law firms: Cozen O'Connor, $6.46 million; Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg, $1.27 million; Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, $940,757; Blank Rome, $812,231; and Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, $677,930.

Others with claims are Ford, $4 million; Washington Philadelphia Investors, the partnership for local investors in the Foxwoods deal, $5.7 million; and Foxwoods Development Co., the development arm of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, $2.64 million.

The main local investors in the Foxwoods deal included Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider, and family charitable trusts for developer Ron Rubin and the daughter of Lewis Katz. Katz is one of the owners of Interstate General Media, owner of The Inquirer.


http://articles.philly.com/2014-04-03/news/48805632_1_pedp-foxwoods-deal-ron-rubin



The Saddest Tourist Destination In America Just Got Even Worse


Atlantic City New Jersey Revel Casino Resort 1 25

The Saddest Tourist Destination In America Just Got Even Worse


I genuinely didn't think my opinion of Atlantic City could get worse. But they are apparently trying to take the home of an ill senior citizen, son of a murdered holocaust survivor, in order to help a failing casino.
Now, I grew up on Long Island but didn't spend summer weekends in the Hamptons. My family went to the Jersey Shore. We used to take the North Jersey Coast Line to Point Pleasant. I have wonderful memories growing up of the beach in New Jersey, although I don't remember the train as being especially reliable. I loved it when my train broke down on the way back to New York once, I think I was 7 and I was happy waiting for the next train to come by and pick us up since the cafe car on ours had run out of M&Ms.
Take the beach in New Jersey and add legal gambling and you should have an even better destination in Atlantic City.
On its face Atlantic City should have every conceivable destination. Not only is there beach and gambling, but proximity to Manhattan — as a population center and financial center. Who should need Vegas, when you have Vegas-on-the-Beach accessible by car?
There's this thing in travel, though. We're not supposed to say that destinations are awful, even when they are. We say things like we "didn't connect with" someplace we went, as though it was our fault or the destination wasn't for us even though we all presume that it was – of course – special. We just didn't get it. We failed.
Sometimes a place can be a cesspool, though. Sadly, that's Atlantic City, although it really shouldn't be. In Leaving Las Vegas, Nicolas Cage portrays a suicidal alcoholic and makes Vegas seem depressing. Vegas ain't got nothing on Atlantic City.
Unemployment in Atlantic City nears 14%. Most of the hoped-for casino projects over the past decade have failed to materialize.
Wikipedia gives us a list of cancelled casino projects, most of which currently sit as vacant lots.


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New Jersey has some of the worst crony capitalism in the United States, and yet (or because of?) Governor Christie sees Atlantic City as a standout for how poorly their regulatory regimes work. United offers new regional jet service to Chicago and Houston… not because there's value in the route, but because Chris Christie promised big taxpayer dollars to support public transportation to and from United's Newark hub if they'd do it, which would be a net transfer to the airline no matter how much they lose on the flights.
So it struck me when I saw Heels First write about the plight of a man she met while visiting the city.
It was at dinner I got the chance to chat with their clients — Charlie Birnbaum and his wife.
…Charlie was a brilliant concert pianist earlier in his career and now worked as a piano tuner using the house as his "studio." I was touched by the painstaking care with which he maintained the house over the years, enjoying it as a living memory of his parents and a respite from Atlantic City's hectic atmosphere.

And it was heartbreaking to know that it might all be taken away and torn down. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority is attempting to use eminent domain to take his property for a yet-to-be-determined "better" use.
This has to be one of the saddest and most frustrating stories I've heard in recent times. Searching online for more details (it's relatively high profile, subject of aWall Street Journal op-ed last week), it just gets worse.
The property was purchased by the man's parents in 1969. They had met while hiding in a forest during the Holocaust. His mother continued to live in the home until she was murdered.
He works out of the home, its central location key to his ability to work at all because of his autoimmune condition.
Now the government has come for this home.
They're trying to take the property through eminent domain to support the Revel casino — which has been behind in property taxes by an 8 figure amount, filed for bankruptcy last year, and has seen its value drop by three-quarters — in unspecified ways. Seriously — they can't even articulate exactly what they're going to do with the property once they take it. (There's a "conceptual plan" to use the property for "restaurants, specialty stores, boutiques and residential housing for rent and purchase.")
There are some truly awful places in the world. You're not supposed to say that about tourist destinations; you're supposed to marvel in them or at least find what’s special about them. But Atlantic City's and New Jersey's political classes have done such terrible things to the place that I find it impossible to do that.

As they say, "if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got." And here, they seem to be repeating the same sort of cronyism that's just taken from local residents and given to big businesses without doing a thing to improve the community.


Read more: http://boardingarea.com/viewfromthewing/2014/05/21/saddest-tourist-destination-united-states-just-gotten-even-worse/#ixzz33FaZufMZ




First casino license could be awarded in mid-June


First casino license could be awarded in mid-June

Massachusetts Gaming Commission members at a hearing in February.Credit: The Boston Globe

(AP) — Massachusetts’ first license for a Las Vegas-style casino could be awarded as soon as mid-June, following four straight days of meetings by state gambling regulators in Boston and Springfield.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission laid out the anticipated timeline at its meeting Thursday. The commission will be in Springfield June 10 and 11; June 12 in Boston and June 13 in Springfield, where the commission aims to approve the award.

    
The commission’s choices are limited: MGM Resorts International’s plan for an $800 million casino on nearly 15 acres straddling Springfield’s downtown and South End neighborhood is the lone project still in contention for the license, which is reserved for the state’s western region. But commission members have been reluctant to rule out the possibility of not issuing an award at this time.
 
Voters in Massachusetts’ third-largest city overwhelmingly approved the MGM project last July as competing plans fell by the wayside. City and business leaders see the project — easily the largest economic development project Springfield has seen in a generation — as a chance to revive the former industrial center, which has among the highest jobless rates in the state.
 
Commissioners said Thursday they want to give as much time as possible to weigh information provided by staff and the casino about the project, as well as discuss any conditions or stipulations they might want to include in issuing the award.
 
‘‘Look, this is a major project for a major section of the city with major implications,’’
Commissioner James McHugh said. ‘‘We are taking this very seriously, even though there is only one applicant.’’
 
This final phase in the more than two-year long licensing process will involve public presentations by each of the five commissioners. Each has been tasked to examine a specific aspect of the casino application. Among those: the project’s finances and revenue projections, economic development potential, site design, and impacts to traffic and local services.
 
McHugh added that the commission could ask MGM officials to elaborate or clarify information discussed during the deliberations. No formal testimony would be taken from the public, however, because the commission held hearings on the proposal earlier this year in Springfield.
 
One open question is whether the commission accepts MGM’s request for a delay in the $85 million licensing fee that comes due if it is awarded the license. The Las Vegas-based casino giant is concerned about the potential for an outright repeal of the state’s casino law.
 
The state’s highest court is expected to rule by July on whether or not a voter referendum to repeal the state’s 2011 casino law should be allowed on the November ballot. That law authorized the commission to award at least three regional casino licenses — western, eastern and southeastern — and one slot parlor license, which has already been awarded to Penn National Gaming for a project at the Plainridge harness racing track in Plainville.
 
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/05/29/state-first-casino-license-awarded-june/kP75Kx8DlwuIvL9IyYl8WJ/story.html
 

Gaming Board: There Won’t Be a Tie on E. Mass. Vote Because There Won’t Be a Tie on E. Mass. Vote



Gaming Board: There Won’t Be a Tie on E. Mass. Vote Because There Won’t Be a Tie on E. Mass. Vote




When the Eastern Massachusetts casino licensing process devolved into a hot mess earlier this month, headlined by commission chair Stephen Crosby’s recusal from any further business having to do with the license, one question stood out. What to do if the now-four-member commission’s vote on whether to award the casino to the proposed Everett and Revere sites results in a tie?
 
Worry not, because today the commission gave its answer. It translates pretty well to this: “Dude. C’mon. There won’t be a tie.”
 
From Commonwealth Magazine:



[Acting chair James] McHugh expressed confidence that the plan would avoid a 2-2 impasse. "The likelihood is nonexistent after going through those tools and still be tied," he said. "It's just not going to happen.
 

Those tools refer to a question-and-presentation protocol that is meant to build consensus across the commission. The board’s previous vote—awarding a slot parlor to Penn National Gaming in Plainville—resulted in a close 3-2 vote.
 
According to MassLive, McHugh, shrugging off the mathematics that suggest a tie is very possible in a four-person vote, added: “It’s inconceivable to me that we won’t reach a decision.”
 
However, he did provide a look at what might happen in the event of the inconceivable. Developers could try and sway commissioners who remained on the fence (despite the fact they already voted—hence the tie), or the commission could ask each to come back with a final offer and vote again. But, going back to Commonwealth Magazine, that part of the plan is still sort-of-kind-of a work in progress.
McHugh said that it would be difficult to precisely predict how the applicants would go about "improving" their offers to deal with any objections.

Anyway, don’t worry about all that because there totally won’t be a tie. There won’t! There just won’t.
 
The board said it would vote on the Eastern Massachusetts license in late August or September, according to MassLive.
 
 
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/05/29/gaming-board-there-won-tie-mass-vote-because-there-won-tie-mass-vote/U3TpwkyziMDWTLpZlzyIfL/story.html
 
 

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Flanagan Flim-Flammed Again!





 
Foxwoods is in serious negotiations with New Bedford to build one of the state's three licensed casinos on the site of the Whaling City Golf Course, creating up to 2,000 jobs, according to sources.
Foxwoods Casino Resort and the investment group Crossroads Massachusetts LLC have decided that sites in Fall River, including one along the waterfront, are unsuitable, sources said.
 
“We don't have any knowledge of that,” Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan said when contacted Wednesday. “I've been working diligently with Foxwoods over the last several weeks and they have not communicated any of that information to me. We've heard nothing contrary.”
 
Sources said Foxwoods considered several other sites in New Bedford, including waterfront industrial property in the Hicks-Logan section of the city, but preferred the golf course on Hathaway Road, which was the site of a casino proposed by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) about 20 years ago.
 
Another potential casino site, an abandoned NStar plant, is under the control of KG Urban Enterprises, which has proposed a cleanup of the waterfront property and the construction of a $500 million casino complex. KG Urban, however, has been unable to secure a partner to operate a casino, the sources said.
 
Asked about the reports, the New Bedford mayor's office referred to a statement issued by Jon Mitchell on April 4. “The city has been in discussions with casino project proponents, and the mayor's door remains open to any qualified casino developer or operator interested in exploring a gaming proposal that is the right fit for New Bedford,” spokeswoman Elizabeth Treadup Pio, said in a statement.
 
Scott Butera, Foxwoods' chief executive, did not respond to two requests for comment.
 
The golf course is owned by the city and could not be conveyed directly to Foxwoods and only could be sold via a public bidding process, sources said. There is no guarantee that Foxwoods would win the bidding, but sources said they don't believe any other potential buyer is likely to bid or already has tried to do what Foxwoods wants to do.
 
Market value for the course is about around $15 million, sources said. City Council approval would be needed to sell the property.

The golf course most likely would remain available to New Bedford residents who want to play there, sources said.

Foxwoods, whose proposal to build a casino in Milford was overwhelmingly rejected by that town's voters, 6,361 to 3,480, in November, has been seeking alternative locations since.

While sources would not state for publication any financial details of the proposed deal with New Bedford, Foxwoods had entered into a host community agreement that would have provided Milford nearly $33.2 million to be paid during the construction period through the fourth anniversary after opening.

In addition, Foxwoods would have made projected annual payments of $31 million, plus an additional $4 million if the casino's total annual gross gaming revenues reach $1 billion.

However, the Milford casino would have been located in the more lucrative Greater Boston market, so any potential payments to New Bedford would probably be less, sources said.

After the Milford vote failed, Foxwoods announced plans in March to build a $750 million resort casino at the site of the New Harbour Mall in Fall River. Fall River said it expected to reveal details of a host community agreement within days. Those days stretched into weeks, and, on May 19, Mayor Flanagan said Foxwoods instead was hoping to find 120 acres of waterfront property to expand the project.

On Wednesday, Flanagan said negotiations with Foxwoods are continuing. Asked why those talks have yet to produce an agreement, Flanagan said: “The Gaming Commission extended the deadline to Sept. 23 and we are using the additional time to fine tune the project to maximize its potential.”

Sources said that in addition to Fall River, Foxwoods executives also had reviewed options in Bridgewater, but in recent weeks had focused their efforts on New Bedford, which has twice voted in favor of hosting a casino and which is farther from the Greater Boston market.

After the land in New Bedford is secured, the next step in the licensing process would be the negotiation of a host community agreement and the scheduling of a referendum vote.

With the preliminary deadline for applications long since passed, the Southeastern Massachusetts license can only be issued to KG Urban Enterprises or an applicant — such as Foxwoods — that has been rejected for the slots parlor license or a casino license in another region. Tentatively, the Gaming Commission has set a Sept. 23 application deadline for the region, with the license being awarded no sooner than February 2015.

Should both Foxwoods and KG Urban bring forth competing proposals for casinos in New Bedford, it would be up to the community — most notably the mayor — to work out the best deal. That's what happened in Springfield, where Mayor Domenic Sarno chose an $800 million plan from MGM Resorts International, eliminating a rival proposal from Penn National Gaming.

The licensing of a casino in Southeastern Massachusetts — also known as Region C — is months behind the process for the Western Massachusetts and Greater Boston casinos, delayed by language in the enabling legislation giving a head start to the Mashpee Wampanoag. So far, the tribe has failed to receive the necessary federal approvals.

In the future, if the tribe is able to have its land taken into trust by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and there is a commercial casino licensed for the region, the Mashpee would be allowed to operate a sovereign casino that would make no payments to the state.
 
 


Flanagan: Foxwoods is 'not looking elsewhere' despite reports that company is negotiating with New Bedford

  • According to sources in Standard-Times report, casino company has expressed interest in Whaling City Golf Course and says Fall River sites are unsuitable

  • Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan discusses plans for a partnership with Foxwoods to build a new casino in Fall River, while Foxwoods CEO Scott Butera stands behind him, on Feb. 24.
    HN File Photo | Dave SouzaFall River Mayor Will Flanagan discusses plans for a partnership with Foxwoods to build a new casino in Fall River, while Foxwoods CEO Scott Butera stands behind him, on Feb. 24.


    »  RELATED CONTENT


  • Michael Holtzman
    Herald News Staff Reporter

    Posted May. 28, 2014 @ 5:51 pm
    Updated at 6:52 PM


    FALL RIVER — Reports that Foxwoods Resort Casino has dramatically shifted priority to build a destination resort casino from Fall River to New Bedford are without merit, Mayor Will Flanagan said Wednesday night.
    “They’re not looking elsewhere,” Flanagan told The Herald News minutes after he said Foxwoods CEO Scott Butera called him back in response to those reports.
    “He has reassured me that Foxwoods has not abandoned the city of Fall River,” Flanagan said. “They’re committed to the city of Fall River and making this project work.”
    But according to a story by The Standard-Times of New Bedford, Foxwoods and its investors, Crossroads Massachusetts LLC, told unidentified sources that sites in Fall River, including a recently discussed waterfront location, were not suitable.
    (Click here for the complete Standard-Times story.)
    The story identified the Whaling City Golf Course as a site being negotiated for what Foxwoods has identified as a casino resort that would create 2,000 jobs.
    Flanagan said that, for months, Butera has said “on numerous occasions that Fall River will be the place in Massachusetts where they will build this project.”
    Three licensed casinos can be built in the state.
    Flanagan said he’s been in negotiations with Foxwoods officials since November and that two to three weeks ago, they “were able to identify a waterfront location” in Fall River. He declined to be more specific.
    The envisioned project Foxwoods and city officials have publicized would include a 140,000-square-foot gambling floor, about 10 restaurants, a hotel, shopping mall, entertainment arena, convention center and spa.
    Flanagan and Kenneth Fiola Jr., executive vice president of the Fall River Office of Economic Development, both said they wanted to see what published information existed on the information about Foxwoods possibly preferring New Bedford.
    When asked about the New Bedford source calling the Fall River site unsuitable, Flanagan said he did not believe the party had close knowledge of his negotiations with Foxwoods.
    “I would deem this source, at this point, to be uncredible,” Flanagan said.
    Fiola, who’s worked for three years with Flanagan attempting to lure various entities to build a casino in Fall River, said he was particularly interested in the source of the new information.
    Fiola acknowledged “there’s a lot of moving parts” with decisions by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission issuing the licenses, possibilities of ballot votes and questions about reimbursing companies if a measure is repealed.
     
  • »  RELATED CONTENT
  • Michael Holtzman
    Herald News Staff Reporter

    Posted May. 28, 2014 @ 5:51 pm
    Updated at 6:52 PM


    FALL RIVER — Reports that Foxwoods Resort Casino has dramatically shifted priority to build a destination resort casino from Fall River to New Bedford are without merit, Mayor Will Flanagan said Wednesday night.
    “They’re not looking elsewhere,” Flanagan told The Herald News minutes after he said Foxwoods CEO Scott Butera called him back in response to those reports.
    “He has reassured me that Foxwoods has not abandoned the city of Fall River,” Flanagan said. “They’re committed to the city of Fall River and making this project work.”
    But according to a story by The Standard-Times of New Bedford, Foxwoods and its investors, Crossroads Massachusetts LLC, told unidentified sources that sites in Fall River, including a recently discussed waterfront location, were not suitable.
    (Click here for the complete Standard-Times story.)
    The story identified the Whaling City Golf Course as a site being negotiated for what Foxwoods has identified as a casino resort that would create 2,000 jobs.
    Flanagan said that, for months, Butera has said “on numerous occasions that Fall River will be the place in Massachusetts where they will build this project.”
    Three licensed casinos can be built in the state.
    Flanagan said he’s been in negotiations with Foxwoods officials since November and that two to three weeks ago, they “were able to identify a waterfront location” in Fall River. He declined to be more specific.
    The envisioned project Foxwoods and city officials have publicized would include a 140,000-square-foot gambling floor, about 10 restaurants, a hotel, shopping mall, entertainment arena, convention center and spa.
    Flanagan and Kenneth Fiola Jr., executive vice president of the Fall River Office of Economic Development, both said they wanted to see what published information existed on the information about Foxwoods possibly preferring New Bedford.
    When asked about the New Bedford source calling the Fall River site unsuitable, Flanagan said he did not believe the party had close knowledge of his negotiations with Foxwoods.
    “I would deem this source, at this point, to be uncredible,” Flanagan said.
    Fiola, who’s worked for three years with Flanagan attempting to lure various entities to build a casino in Fall River, said he was particularly interested in the source of the new information.
    Fiola acknowledged “there’s a lot of moving parts” with decisions by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission issuing the licenses, possibilities of ballot votes and questions about reimbursing companies if a measure is repealed.
     
  • Tuesday, May 27, 2014

    Cash-for-Gold shop opens near Sugarhouse Casino


    Massachusetts ‘GAMING’ Future
     
    Open this link and listen were some casino gamblers get their gold from.
     
    Philadelphia Inquirer - May 12, 2014, - Cash-for-Gold shop opens near Sugarhouse Casino
    A store that buys gold has opened up across Delaware Avenue from SugarHouse casino, and once again, neighborhood groups and city leaders are fighting it.

    “We were promised these kinds of businesses would be kept out, that this would never happen,” said Fishtown Action's Maggie O'Brien, as unhappy as she was when cash-for-gold signs went up on the same store back in 2011.

    Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/Cash-for-Gold_shop_opens_near_Sugarhouse_Casino.html#ev0mo1duAksBXC5P.99
     

    Massachusetts ‘GAMING’ Future

Open this link and listen were some casino gamblers get their gold from.

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v62217338BpJxzmp3

Philadelphia Inquirer - May 12, 2014, - Cash-for-Gold shop opens near Sugarhouse Casino

A store that buys gold has opened up across Delaware Avenue from SugarHouse casino, and once again, neighborhood groups and city leaders are fighting it.

“We were promised these kinds of businesses would be kept out, that this would never happen,” said Fishtown Action's Maggie O'Brien, as unhappy as she was when cash-for-gold signs went up on the same store back in 2011.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/Cash-for-Gold_shop_opens_near_Sugarhouse_Casino.html#ev0mo1duAksBXC5P.99








    Last updated: Monday, May 12, 2014, 12:27 PM

    A store that buys gold has opened up across Delaware Avenue from SugarHouse casino, and once again, neighborhood groups and city leaders are fighting it.

    “We were promised these kinds of businesses would be kept out, that this would never happen,” said Fishtown Action's Maggie O'Brien, as unhappy as she was when cash-for-gold signs went up on the same store back in 2011.

    “I was surprised, and I was angry,” to see new signs advertising the purchase of gold and jewelry, said near-neighbor and activist Jethro Heiko. “I thought it wasn't allowed, and this is not the kind of business people want near their homes.”

    Fishtown Neighbors Association's Matt Karp and Sean McMonagle, legislative aide to First District Councilman Mark Squilla, don't like this particular deja vu, either.

    “I thought we took care of this back in 2011,” McMonagle said.

    As far as the opponents are concerned, this store is a pawn shop, and pawn shops are a prohibited use at the site, which has an Allen Street address although it fronts on Delaware Ave.

    The pawn shop issue was raised the first time around, and back then the city determined that the zoning code did not explicitly define cash-for-gold stores as pawn shops.

    In response, McMonagle's previous boss, former First District Councilman Frank DiCicco, and Council President Darrell Clarke joined forces on legislation adding cash-for-gold stores to the pawn shop definition. (Clarke's office is also researching the current situation.)

    This site had a jewelry store permit before the DiCicco/Clarke bill was introduced.

    That permit, which includes accessory buying and selling of precious metals, was updated in Nov. 2013, according to city records.

    No one from the Department of Licenses & Inspections was available to comment Friday, but back in 2011, I explained that to qualify under such a license, at least 75 percent of a store's floor space must be dedicated to jewelry sales, and no more than 25 percent to buying precious metals. Receipts don't count: Only floor space.

    Phila Gold owner Kim Bui said Friday his business will buy and sell jewelry, and neighbors need not worry: “This is not a pawn shop.”

    He will not be lending people money in exchange for collateral as pawn shops do, he said after coming out from behind a window with a “speak here” circle to talk.  (That window and circle have been in place since the last time.) “There will be no bonds,” Bui said.

    There were several jewelery display cases at Phila Gold on Friday,  but  all were empty.

    When asked where the jewelry was, Bui said he didn't want to invest in any until he knew there was a demand for it. He said he was going to see how things went in the next month, and whether customers asked for jewelry. If there was no demand, he would close.

    Bui said he's been open for four days, and hasn't  purchased any metal yet. Some people have come into the store to ask about the jewelry, and he told them to check back. Others wanted to know if he was a pawn shop or if he would cash a check, and he said he told them he he did neither.

    The back of a business card sitting on the counter included the phrase, “Cash for Gold & Pawn.”

    When asked about it, Bui showed another card on which he had crossed out that part, and said it was a printer's error. He began crossing the phrase off the rest of the stack, and asked for the card PlanPhilly had with the phrase still on it so he could cross it off that one, too.

    Both Squilla's office and Clarke's have received calls from concerned neighbors, and are investigating the situation.

    “My boss just shot an email to ask them to inspect it,”  McMonagle said Friday.

    McMonagle said Squilla's office would be fighting to close the business.

    Back in 2011, I found the Cash-for-Gold signs were in violation, and they were removed. That store never opened for business.

    McMonagle noted that since the building had not been used as a jewelry store since 2011, the use permit would normally have expired.

    PlanPhilly has requested from  clarification on the status of the store's permit; what impact, if any, the amended definition of “pawn shop” that includes cash-for-gold stores has on this case; and whether or not it matters that buying gold and jewelry is the business most predominantly advertised by the store's signage.  McMonagle is also looking into these issues.

    None of the folks in the neighborhood really care how much of the floor space is dedicated to jewelry sales.

    Fishtown Neighbor's Karp called the 25 percent floor area stipulation a “loop hole,” since the vast majority of a business could be buying metals. “This is a prohibited use, and they should have to go through the variance process,” he said.

    O'Brien's organization has always supported SugarHouse, and Heiko was once leader of Casino-Free Philadelphia. They agreed the store proposed in 2011 shouldn't open, and they agree this one should close.

    Heiko said the casino is a predatory business, and it attracted another predatory business to  open.

    O'Brien said she's concerned people who can't afford to lose money to gambling will cash in items to get money, but beyond that, she's  worried such a business would bring to Fishtown “thieves who steal people's jewelry and go down there and cash it in” and people addicted to drugs or alcohol looking for money for their fix.

    Karp said FNA members were very concerned about a casino attracting pawn shops, cash for gold, and other business Fishtown would rather not have, but that hadn't happened, at least not until now.


    Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/Cash-for-Gold_shop_opens_near_Sugarhouse_Casino.html#hfyFWLlOhm6dj54Z.99