617-979-8400. While you're at it, why not let Mayor Menino know how you feel about Caesars? (by the way, despite our formal letter and calls and emails from many of you over the last couple weeks asking the Mayor to scrutinize Caesars' values the same way he scrutinized Chick-fil-A's, we still have not received even an acknowledgement of our request -- let alone a response.)
But regardless of our politicians' lack of real dialogue with us on this issue, we press on. Please forward this to others throughout the state who are against the casinos and ask them to contact the Commission about Caesars. And thank you again for sticking with us. We're growing in numbers and influence, and we're confident that after being presented with the facts, our community will send Caesars' Gary Loveman packing.Steve for the No Eastie Casino team
-----------
[BEGIN PRESS RELEASE]
Caesars: Bad Partner for Suffolk Downs, Terrible Bet for Boston
(EAST BOSTON, MASS, August 14, 2012) — With Suffolk
Downs now officially in the running for one of three casino licenses that will
be awarded statewide, the review process for the racetrack and its development
partner, Caesars Entertainment, begins. Gaming officials ensure that this review
process will be a thorough, careful analysis of each developer’s financial
viability and business practices. Upon investigating Caesars, the Massachusetts
Gaming Commission should reject Suffolk Downs’ application to build a
casino.
On the surface, Caesars may seem like a
top-performing, admirable corporation in a booming industry. But when you pull
back the diamond-studded curtain, one finds a debt-saddled company that
mistreats its employees, preys on the vulnerability of problem gamblers, shirks
its tax responsibility, and secretly knows the casino market is saturated and in
decline. In Caesars, Suffolk Downs bringing a Trojan horse into a
family-oriented, tight-knit neighborhood. We urge the racetrack to sever ties
with Caesars. We urge the City of Boston to stand against dangerous businesses
preying on its residents. (Note: We have still received no acknowledgement of
our letter to Mayor Menino asking him to apply the same scrutiny to Caesars as
he recently did to Chick-fil-A) And we ask the Gaming Commission to reject
outright any casino application with Caesars’ name on it. Consider:
Caesars is Financially Unviable
Caesars is underwater financially and flailing
wildly for even the most unlikely source of rescue. Its debt ($19.9 billion)
dwarfs the next most indebted casino operator, MGM ($13.4 billion). Since its
stock debuted in January, Caesars’ stock has since plummeted 42 percent to below
its initial public offering.[i] Moody’s Investor Services
has downgraded Caesars’ credit rating and warned investors that the company’s
debt is “eating its cash” and threatens its competitive position in the
market.[ii] Caesars industry-leading
debt and low credit rating have resulted in the company being forced to pay an
interest rate of 15 percent — close to 70 percent higher than the gambling
industry average of 9 percent.[iii] To earn cash, the company
has been selling off several of its properties[iv], and in
what some analysts say is its biggest gamble yet for its long-term future,
Caesars has recently invested heavily in online gaming companies that try to
hook young people through sites like Facebook.[v]
Caesars Targets Problem Gamblers with Predatory
Marketing, Frequency Casinos
Over the last decade or so, CEO Gary Loveman has
built Caesars into the biggest casino company in the world by accessing
gamblers’ personal financial information and using it to target those who are
most likely to come back again and again. (called “frequency players”) Caesars’
“Total Rewards Program” provides free meals, alcohol, hotel rooms, and
entertainment tickets to people who visit the casino an average of three to five
times a week. The owner of a Bethlehem, Pa., casino admitted in 2010 that many
of these frequency guests live within 15 minutes of the casino, “give [the
casino] $25, $30 five times a week … grab a hot dog or maybe a chicken
sandwich,” gamble three hours, “then go home and sleep in their own bed.”[vi] Pressured financially,
Caesars will resort to even more invasive and predatory practices to keep
current customers, woo new ones, and increase its bottom line.
Caesars’ casino at Suffolk Downs will not be
a destination resort, but a frequency market, the centerpiece being the
4,000-5,000 slot machines (by comparison, Foxwoods – one of the world’s largest
casinos – has 6,000 slot machines). With just 350 hotel rooms planned for the
facility, it’s easy to see that Caesars will be primarily targeting the
potential repeat players who live in the surrounding communities.
Here’s the scary thing: They won’t stop at preying
on legal gamblers; they’ll be after our teenagers too. Just a few weeks ago,
Caesars agreed to pay the Nevada gaming regulators a fine of $100,000 to settle
multiple charges that dozens of Caesars employees allowed underage
teenagers to drink and gamble at several of its Las Vegas casinos.[vii]
Caesars Mistreats its Employees
Suffolk Downs and Caesars are promising thousands of
good-paying permanent jobs once a casino is built. On average, they say, casino
workers will earn $42,000 per year. But that number factors in a handful of
positions that pay many multiples of the salary they cite, including executive
and manager salaries. By looking at other Caesars locations around the country,
we know the “jobs” reality is much more sobering. Recently, it was reported that
within a few weeks of the grand opening of Cleveland’s celebrated Horseshoe
Casino, “lots of people” were already quitting their jobs. Cashiers reported
working 11-hour days; slot attendants earn $6 per hour plus tips (which have
been nonexistent); and some workers cried after seeing their paychecks.[viii] And for the last five
years, Caesars has battled union dealers at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas over a
labor contract, even asking dealers to share what little they earn in tips with
management. Dealers at Caesars Palace earn “little more than minimum wage” and
“receive as much as 90 percent of their incomes from tips.”[ix]
Caesars Skips Out on its Property Taxes
In exchange for permission to operate, casinos
promise governments a big cut of the profits in the form of tax revenue. But in
Atlantic City, Caesars has exploited unfair loopholes to pay less in
property taxes, resulting in city budget shortfalls. Caesars opted to have its
properties reassessed factoring in declining revenues – an option not afforded
to independent homeowners – forcing Atlantic City to retroactively pay Caesars
$27 million in refunds for a lower assessment between 2009 and 2011.[x] In St. Louis, Caesars is
fighting the county assessor in court after its Harrah’s location there was
asked to pay more property taxes.[xi] The company is employing
the same tax-avoiding scheme at its Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh.[xii]
The people of Boston want to know that the business
entities in their midst are good neighbors. Suffolk Downs and the state’s Gaming
Commission need assurance that a casino developer is financially sound and
trustworthy. Caesars Entertainment will be none of these things. Like the people
of Foxboro did with Steve Wynn, we will tell the truth about Gary Loveman and
Caesars, and they will be sent on their way.
The ball is in the Gaming Commission’s court. It
must stop Caesars Entertainment from developing at Suffolk Downs or anywhere in
Massachusetts. It will simply be too costly to do otherwise.
For more information
about No Eastie Casino:
www.noeastiecasino.com
https://twitter.com/NoEastieCasino
https://www.facebook.com/groups/253713061343651/
www.noeastiecasino.com
https://twitter.com/NoEastieCasino
https://www.facebook.com/groups/253713061343651/
[xii] http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/weak-hand-the-rivers-casino-should-live-up-to-its-promises-629954/
August 14, 2012
CONTACTS:
Celeste Myers /
857-574-0255 / celeste.myers@gmail.com
Brian Gannon /
briangannon.j@gmail.com
Caesars: Bad Partner for Suffolk Downs, Terrible Bet for Boston
EAST BOSTON, MASS.— With Suffolk Downs now officially in the running for one of three
casino licenses that will be awarded statewide, the review process for the racetrack and its
development partner, Caesars Entertainment, begins. Gaming officials ensure that this review
process will be a thorough, careful analysis of each developer’s financial viability and business
practices. Upon investigating Caesars, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission should reject
Suffolk Downs’ application to build a casino.
On the surface, Caesars may seem like a top-performing, admirable corporation in a booming
industry. But when you pull back the diamond-studded curtain, one finds a debt-saddled
company that mistreats its employees, preys on the vulnerability of problem gamblers, shirks its
tax responsibility, and secretly knows the casino market is saturated and in decline. In Caesars,
Suffolk Downs bringing a Trojan horse into a family-oriented, tight-knit neighborhood. We urge
the racetrack to sever ties with Caesars. We urge the City of Boston to stand against dangerous
businesses preying on its residents. And we ask the Gaming Commission to reject outright any
casino application with Caesars’ name on it. Consider:
Caesars is Financially Unviable
Caesars is underwater financially and flailing wildly for even the most unlikely source of rescue.
Its debt ($19.9 billion) dwarfs the next most indebted casino operator, MGM ($13.4 billion).
Since its stock debuted in January, Caesars’ stock has since plummeted 42 percent to below its
initial public offering.
i Moody’s Investor Services has downgraded Caesars’ credit rating and
warned investors that the company’s debt is “eating its cash” and threatens its competitive
position in the market.
ii Caesars industry-leading debt and low credit rating have resulted in the
company being forced to pay an interest rate of 15 percent — close to 70 percent higher than
the gambling industry average of 9 percent.
iii To earn cash, the company has been selling off
several of its properties
iv, and in what some analysts say is its biggest gamble yet for its longterm
future, Caesars has recently invested heavily in online gaming companies that try to hook
young people through sites like Facebook.
v
Caesars Targets Problem Gamblers with Predatory Marketing, Frequency Casinos
Over the last decade or so, CEO Gary Loveman has built Caesars into the biggest casino
company in the world by accessing gamblers’ personal financial information and using it to
target those who are most likely to come back again and again. (called “frequency players”)
Caesars’ “Total Rewards Program” provides free meals, alcohol, hotel rooms, and
entertainment tickets to people who visit the casino an average of three to five times a week.
The owner of a Bethlehem, Pa., casino admitted in 2010 that many of these frequency guests
live within 15 minutes of the casino, “give [the casino] $25, $30 five times a week … grab a hot
dog or maybe a chicken sandwich,” gamble three hours, “then go home and sleep in their own
bed.”
vi Pressured financially, Caesars will resort to even more invasive and predatory practices
to keep current customers, woo new ones, and increase its bottom line.
Caesars’ casino at Suffolk Downs will not be a destination resort, but a frequency market, the
centerpiece being the 4,000-5,000 slot machines (by comparison, Foxwoods – one of the
world’s largest casinos – has 6,000 slot machines). With just 350 hotel rooms planned for the
facility, it’s easy to see that Caesars will be primarily targeting the potential repeat players who
live in the surrounding communities.
Here’s the scary thing: They won’t stop at preying on legal gamblers; they’ll be after our
teenagers too. Just a few weeks ago, Caesars agreed to pay the Nevada gaming regulators a
fine of $100,000 to settle multiple charges that dozens of Caesars employees allowed underage
teenagers to drink and gamble at several of its Las Vegas casinos.
vii
Caesars Mistreats its Employees
Suffolk Downs and Caesars are promising thousands of good-paying permanent jobs once a
casino is built. On average, they say, casino workers will earn $42,000 per year. But that
number factors in a handful of positions that pay many multiples of the salary they cite, including
executive and manager salaries. By looking at other Caesars locations around the country, we
know the “jobs” reality is much more sobering. Recently, it was reported that within a few weeks
of the grand opening of Cleveland’s celebrated Horseshoe Casino, “lots of people” were already
quitting their jobs. Cashiers reported working 11-hour days; slot attendants earn $6 per hour
plus tips (which have been nonexistent); and some workers cried after seeing their paychecks.
viii
And for the last five years, Caesars has battled union dealers at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas
over a labor contract, even asking dealers to share what little they earn in tips with
management. Dealers at Caesars Palace earn “little more than minimum wage” and “receive as
much as 90 percent of their incomes from tips.”
ix
Caesars Skips Out on its Property Taxes
In exchange for permission to operate, casinos promise governments a big cut of the profits in
the form of tax revenue. But in Atlantic City, Caesars has exploited unfair loopholes to pay less
in property taxes, resulting in city budget shortfalls. Caesars opted to have its properties
reassessed factoring in declining revenues – an option not afforded to independent
homeowners – forcing Atlantic City to retroactively pay Caesars $27 million in refunds for a
lower assessment between 2009 and 2011.
x In St. Louis, Caesars is fighting the county
assessor in court after its Harrah’s location there was asked to pay more property taxes.
xi The
company is employing the same tax-avoiding scheme at its Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh.
xii
The people of Boston want to know that the business entities in their midst are good neighbors.
Suffolk Downs and the state’s Gaming Commission need assurance that a casino developer is
financially sound and trustworthy. Caesars Entertainment will be none of these things. Like the
people of Foxboro did with Steve Wynn, we will tell the truth about Gary Loveman and Caesars,
and they will be sent on their way.
The ball is in the Gaming Commission’s court. It must stop Caesars Entertainment from
developing at Suffolk Downs or anywhere in Massachusetts. It will simply be too costly to do
otherwise.
i
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/07/13/how-low-will-caesars-entertainment-go/
ii
http://www.vegasinc.com/news/2011/jun/29/moodys-warns-again-caesars-entertainments-debt/
iii
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-08/caesars-15-shows-loveman-s-difficult-world-corporate-finance.html
iv
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/rolling_the_dice_h9p5omq8lR3tnpJ3ortUsN
v
http://www.mobiledia.com/news/154874.html
vi
http://articles.philly.com/2012-05-07/news/31598203_1_pennsylvania-casinos-slots-parlor-city-slots
vii
http://www.lvrj.com/business/caesars-to-pay-100-000-fine-to-settle-under-age-gambling-alcohol-charges-
162946696.html
viii
http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2012/05/31/lots-of-people-already-quitting-their-jobs-atcleveland-
casino
ix
http://www.lvrj.com/business/caesars-palace-union-agree-on-contract-for-dealers-162087895.html
x
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/caesars-atlantic-city-settle-tax-appeal-but-other-casinoshave/
article_07104fa0-75fa-11e1-a73a-0019bb2963f4.html
xi
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/harrah-s-appeals-appraisal-that-would-double-taxes/article_80f10a48-
ca2e-11e1-9041-0019bb30f31a.html
xii
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/weak-hand-the-rivers-casino-should-live-up-to-its-promises-
629954/
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