Meet the high rollers - Not one of them GAMBLES

Meet the high rollers
We asked Richard McGowan, a gaming expert at Boston College, to predict the odds for some of the biggest proposals.
By Francis Storrs
April 22, 2012

THE BET > ROBERT KRAFT AND STEVE WYNN

The Pats and Bellagio honchos have teamed up to propose a $1 billion pleasure palace including a luxury hotel and convention center, skating rink, a theater, and much more. They’ve promised as much as a $15 million annual benefit to Foxborough.

THE ODDS > 4:1

“Kraft has pretty good political connections and Wynn is inventive,” says McGowan. “But what kind of economic stimulus does Foxborough need?”

THE BET > MASHPEE WAMPANOAGS

The tribe says it can bring millions of dollars to Taunton, where it wants to build a casino, hotels, a water park, and more on 135 acres. It has until July 31 to reach a compact with the state.

THE ODDS > 3:1

“The legislation basically says it’s theirs to lose,” says McGowan. “But they have an awful lot of work to get done. A lot of work.”

Caesars Entertainment chairman, president and CEO Gary Loveman speaks at the luncheon of the Boston College Chief Executives' Club.

THE BET > RICHARD FIELDS, JOE O’DONNELL, AND GARY LOVEMAN

The $600 million proposal for the 163-acre Suffolk Downs racetrack, straddling East Boston and Revere, is helmed by a power trio. There’s Fields, casino developer and majority racetrack owner; philanthropist O’Donnell (who just gave $30 million to Harvard); and Wellesley resident Loveman, head of Caesars, the world’s largest gaming company.

THE ODDS > 2:1

“They’re odds-on favorites. It’s right next to the airport and convention centers, East Boston and Revere are no problem politically, and Boston is going to be behind it,” McGowan says. “The negative is the congestion on 1A.”


THE BET > AMERISTAR CASINOS

The Las Vegas firm already paid $16 million for 41 acres in Springfield, where its CEO said a $500 million resort “will directly create thousands of much needed new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of economic development.”

THE ODDS > 3:1

“They’re big players,” McGowan says, but there’ll be stiff competition for the single Western Mass. license. “All the cities think it’s going to be their salvation.”


THE BET > MOHEGAN PEQUOTS

The Connecticut tribe behind Mohegan Sun has said it will spend $600 million on a 152-acre resort in Palmer, with a luxury hotel, shops, and world-class restaurants.

THE ODDS > 4:1

“In terms of economic development,” McGowan says, “there won’t be much sympathy to a casino operator out of Connecticut.”