Ohio Defunding Host Communities

The article at the bottom goes far beyond PREDATORY GAMBLING, IMPACTS and the costs to HOST COMMUNITIES.

This defines the Failed Fiscal Policies.....

How Ohio Pulled $4 Billion+ from Communities and Redistributed It Upwards

Ohio: Poster Child for Mindless Global Self-Destruction

Toxin leaves 500,000 in northwest Ohio without drinking water

 

Racino communities looking to governor for payment plan



When the governor vetoed a legislative proposal to provide $500,000 each to Austintown and Dayton for hosting racinos, we thought he would lay out his ideas for the payments in the executive biennium budget he submitted to the Ohio General Assembly earlier this month.

But much to our surprise, Gov. John Kasich’s budget makes no mention of the racino communities.

Thus, we, along with Austintown Township officials, state Rep. Ronald Gerberry of Austintown, D-59th, and Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, wonder if the governor has had a change of heart, or if there’s a hitch.

Last December, Kasich vetoed an amendment that would have required Penn National Gaming to pay $250,000 to each community, with the other $250,000 coming from the $150 million Penn National will be paying into a special fund over the next 10 years.

The governor contended that Penn National should be responsible for the entire amount, and then he went a step further: He said that four other communities that host racinos, North Randall, Northfield, Lebanon and Cincinnati, must also receive annual payments from the owners of the gaming facilities.

Excluded from his plan is Franklin County, which is home to Scioto Downs Racino. Hollywood Casino Columbus already is paying the county government.

In addition to Penn National, other gaming companies operating in Ohio are Rock Ohio Caesars, MTR Gaming, Hard Rock International, Miami Valley Gaming and Pinnacle Entertainment.

We praised the governor for coming up with a fair solution, but Gerberry issued a warning at the time that may be coming to pass.

Here’s what the veteran legislator said in the wake of Kasich’s action:



“I’m just hopeful that the persuasion of the governor’s office is very strong in 2015 on the majority party of the Senate.

The reason that this is not getting done is that there are some folks in the majority that believe that the host racino communities shouldn’t be paid $500,000 a year, and they’ve been able to stop it.

That’s unfortunate.”

We were skeptical about Gerberry’s claim that some senators do not believe racino host communities should be paid, but recent developments have given us pause.

ReluctanceFor instance, Gerberry and Schiavoni have been trying to get leaders from the four communities the governor added to the list to publicly support Kasich’s payment proposal, but their unwillingness to take a stand does raise questions.

After all, it’s their constituents who stand to benefit.“I think there should be at least 10 to 15 state reps crying over here saying, ‘Why haven’t these communities gotten their money?’

I don’t know why there isn’t more of a push from every racino community ... Don’t you think you would have gotten involved? Actively involved?”

We certainly would think so.In the end, however, it’s up to Gov. Kasich to press the GOP leaders in the House and Senate to take up the issue.

After all, he said no to the original proposal that would have resulted in Austintown and Dayton being paid by now.

The two communities have already budgeted for the $500,000, which is not a handout.

While the seven racinos in Ohio — there also are four Vegas-style casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo — have spurred economic growth, they also forced governments to spend more on police and fire protection and road maintenance.


 - See more at: http://www.vindy.com/news/2015/feb/21/racino-communities-looking-to-governor-f/#sthash.ewD4jH8J.dpuf

Breaking today: Columbia School of Public Health publishes major story on impacts of casinos and lotteries

The Columbia School of Public Health published a major national story today about the massive public health impacts of government-sponsored casinos and lotteries. Investigated by Elaine Meyer, it spotlights how predatory gambling is harming millions of Americans and the communities they live in. You can read it here on the Columbia School of Public Health website (all of the buttons to share it are on the right side of its front page.)

For much of the last twenty-five years, most in the public health community in America have been willfully silent on this issue but thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of so many of you in our movement nationally, that has been changing. Today's story is evidence of our collective efforts.

Please read the story and then share it with all of your personal social networks along with anyone you know in the health care and public health fields. And make extra certain to share it with all the public health officials in your community, county and state.

Change happens when we each do our job in making it happen. Keep pushing.

Thanks for your work.

Best,

Les

____________

Les Bernal

National Director

Stop Predatory Gambling

"End the unfairness and inequality created by government-sponsorship of casinos and lotteries."

If you support our mission and work, please participate by contributing $10 or more today to help sustain it.

Quick Links An American Declaration on Government and Gambling Online Store SPG in the Media Take Action A Failed Government Policy Lies vs. Facts Background Reading Share Your Story Donate To The Mission

Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation ι 100 Maryland Avenue NE, Room 310 ι Washington, D.C. 20002 ι (202) 567-6996

PENN NATIONAL: OVERSTATED PROJECTIONS IN OHIO

PENN NATIONAL DISAPPOINTED IN COLUMBUS CASINO'S REVENUES
By Steve Wartenberg        

July 24, 2013
After three consecutive months of declining revenue, officials of Penn National Gaming publicly announced what was obvious to industry observers: The take at its Hollywood Casino Columbus has been disappointing.

Penn officials expected the $400 million West Side gambling palace that opened in October to dominate the central Ohio market and rake in more than the $16.5 million in revenue it produced in June.

“Clearly the market has not met our expectations,” said Timothy Wilmott, Penn’s president and chief operating officer. “We expected to be the market leader in slot win, and right now, we’re at a 50-50 level with Scioto (Downs).”

In June, Scioto Downs Racetrack & Casino had slot revenue of $11.45 million, while Hollywood’s slot total was $11.23 million. That was the first month that the racino, owned by MTR Gaming, topped the Penn property.

Hollywood Columbus had an additional $5.26 million in revenue from its table games.
MTR Gaming officials did not return calls asking for comment.

Results from Hollywood Casino Toledo have been disappointing as well and contributed to a less-than-stellar second-quarter earnings report from Penn yesterday. Overall, the company, based in Wyomissing, Pa., had $761.4 million in revenue in the quarter and lost $12.2 million, or 16 cents per share. Penn also reduced its revenue outlook for the remainder of the year from $3.14 billion to $2.98 billion.

Penn stock dropped 7.4 percent yesterday, closing at $49.98.

Several factors contributed to the poor quarter, said Peter Carlino, Penn’s chairman and CEO, during a conference call with Wall Street analysts yesterday. They included an overall gambling-industry malaise, extreme weather at some Penn sites and increased competition from new casinos.

[TRANSLATION: The Gambling Idustry has SATURATED THE MARKET.]

And then there’s Ohio.

“The issue has largely been that Ohio has not ramped up as quickly as we had hoped for,” Carlino said.

However, he still believes, “in the end, these two properties (Hollywood Columbus and Toledo) will do everything we think they will do.”

Industry experts were not surprised that Penn officials were disappointed by the poor performance of their two Ohio casinos.

“We already knew from past reports that their revenues have not matched the projections,” said Alan Silver, an Ohio University assistant professor of restaurant, hotel and tourism and a former casino executive.

He cited the slow economic recovery as a reason casino revenue has declined in several states in recent months.

Silver also said the amount of free play awarded by Scioto Downs to slot players has helped it gain ground on Hollywood Columbus.

“People want free play. It brings people in,” Silver said.

Scioto Downs awarded $3.8 million in free play in June, compared with Hollywood Casino’s $2 million.

“We don’t believe that’s sustainable,” Wilmott said of the amount of free play awarded by Scioto Downs, and the $7.2 million in free play awarded at Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati in June.

The Cincinnati figure is more than the June total of the two Hollywood casinos and Horseshoe Casino Cleveland combined.

Carlino called this amount “suicidal.”

Horseshoe Cincinnati opened in March and competes for gamblers, and their money, with Penn’s nearby Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg in Indiana. Revenue at Hollywood Lawrenceburg sank 37 percent in June — to $20.2 million — from a year earlier.

Penn officials say its two Ohio casinos are profitable.

“Columbus and Toledo will have slightly north of a 20 percent cash-on-cash return in their first year,” said William Clifford, Penn’s senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer.

By that, he meant that each casino earned 20 percent of the cost to build it — or $80 million in the case of Hollywood Columbus — before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were deducted.

“We would do projects all day if we can get a 20 percent return in the first year, and we’re confident those metrics will improve over time,” Clifford said.

Penn is expected to open two racinos in Ohio by the end of 2014: Hollywood at Dayton Raceway, and Hollywood at Mahoning Valley Race Course.

Each will cost about $250 million to construct, and Penn officials say they will apply lessons learned from their current Ohio operations.

“We’ll open a little more conservatively with the slot product we’ll put out on the floor and let the market grow and add additional slots,” Wilmott said, adding that each will open with about 1,000 slots.

The success of Scioto Downs, even though it has come at the expense of Hollywood Columbus, has increased Penn’s optimism about the openings of its two racinos.

Racinos generally have fewer amenities than Las Vegas-style casinos such as the Hollywood and Horseshoe casinos in Ohio.

“It says customers are willing to go to a lesser product,” Wilmott said.


http://www.columbusceo.com/content/stories/Dispatch/2013/07/penn-national.html

Racinos

Which came first? The death of racing or the pretense that Slot Barns would save them?

Twin River was supposed to 'save racing' - great pretense! In bankruptcy court, they eliminated the subsidy for racing.  The same thing will happen in Massachusetts....we just pretend otherwise.

Bill Kearney

Massachusetts ‘Gaming’ Future

The Associated Press - March 6, 2013 - W.Va. casinos seek break from taxes, racing

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - As West Virginia's four racetrack casinos face growing competition from across the state's borders, several lawmakers introduced a measure Wednesday that would slash the taxes and fees they pay by an estimated $28.3 million a year and allow them to scale back racing.
...
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20130306_ap_wvacasinosseekbreakfromtaxesracing.html#ixzz2MrhygZrh

Save the horse industry was the first pitch our lawmakers used when they first started ‘PIMPING’ casinos for Pennsylvania. Now it’s true that our dying horse racing industry has been brought back to life, but it’s not because of greater attendance or from people gambling at our horse tracks. It’s because they’re being subsidized from the ‘BILLIONS’ of dollars that Pennsylvanians are losing in our casinos annually.

Casinos are the main reason why the horse racing industry is dying in our country and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand why, but it helps being an ex-casino gambling degenerate like myself to prove and explain why.

Here in Philadelphia, Pa. we once had four horse-racing tracks within an hour or so ride from one another, Liberty Bell Park, Brandywine, Garden State, and Atlantic City race track. The first three tracks closed down completely once casino gambling became legal in Atlantic City. The Atlantic City race course holds a few live racing events each year just to keep with state law in order to hold simulcast betting throughout the year.

The reason why the horse racing industry is dying is because it is completely unarmed to compete against casinos that are operating 24/7, serving Free booze, designated SMOKING areas, cashing personal Check, offering interest Free Credit, Free Play and Comping their patrons so they can justify their losses.

Go to any horse racing track in our country and you will see very few patrons under the age of fifty. The new generation of gamblers doesn’t have the patience to wait for a horse to run around in a circle to get their fix. They need it instantaneously, and that’s what casino gambling does. In other words, comparing horse racing gambling and casino gambling is like comparing marijuana to crack cocaine.

The only way the horse racing industry might have a shot in today’s casino gambling world would be for them to go to a Ben-Hur theme, with chariots, whips, swards, and spears.See More

 

 

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - As West Virginia's four racetrack casinos face growing competition from across the state's borders, several lawmakers introduced a measure Wednesday that would slash the taxes and fees they pay by an estimated $28.3 million a year and allow them to scale back racing.

And while the casinos aren't seeking to end racing , West Virginia first legalized other forms of gambling at these sites to support the racing industry , they also need greater control of their costs, said John Cavacini, lobbyist and president of the state Racing Association.

"If a racetrack is losing money on racing, it has to consider a reduction of racing days and the viability of live racing," Cavacini said Wednesday. "It's purely an economical, business model concept of the operation."

Groups representing racing workers at the state's horse tracks did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday. Five Democratic senators sponsored the measure, including two whose district includes the Northern Panhandle casinos. It would cut the annual fee that each casino now pays to host table games such as craps and roulette by more than half, from $2.5 million to $1 million.

The fees benefit senior citizen programs, and the bill proposes offsetting the resulting annual $6 million revenue loss by dipping into the purse fund for race winners by that amount.

The state's share of table game proceeds would drop from 35 percent of gross receipts to 25 percent. This tax on table games reaped $78.1 million during the last budget year, and the proposed rate change would have reduced that amount by $22.3 million.

The bill pares down the minimum number of live racing days at all four tracks from 200 to 150. Actual racing days ranged from 210 days at the Northern Panhandle's Mountaineer Casino Racetrack & Resort to 311 days at the Mardi Gras Casino & Resort in Kanawha County in 2011, the latest year for which figures were available from the West Virginia Racing Commission. The measure would also allow each casino to set the number of races per day, a power now wielded by the Racing Commission.

Mountaineer and the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in the Eastern Panhandle offer horse racing, while greyhounds race at Mardi Gras and Wheeling Island Casino & Resort in the Northern Panhandle.

Cavacini counted 14 competing gambling facilities that have opened in border states over the past four years. They include two racetrack casinos in Pittsburgh, while Ohio has opened slot machine rooms at seven racetracks as well as four stand-alone casinos. Maryland, meanwhile, has allowed slot machines since 2010 and on Wednesday granted a license allowing its first casino to offer table games since voters approved that expansion in November.

All 14 venues cited by Cavacini are within 150 miles of the Northern Panhandle's two tracks, he said.
"These monies would be used for marketing, promotions, giveaways, incentives for people to come to the (casinos)," Cavacini said of the bill's provisions. "They would be pure marketing dollars to try to win back the customers we have lost."

Mountaineer is owned by MTR Gaming, which also operates several of the competing Ohio gambling sites. The Hollywood Casino is part of Penn National Gaming, which also includes competitors in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

A majority of gamblers at West Virginia's casinos hail from other states. Even Mardi Gras, which unlike the other sites is not in a border county, relies on other states for two-thirds of its patrons. But figures presented earlier this week by the Lottery Commission, which oversees all casino gambling except race wagering, show that the in-state share of gamblers is creeping upward for at least two of the casinos.

Cavacini said the casinos provided $430 million in revenues to state, county and municipal government during the last budget year despite economic woes, and employ 4,000 people on the non-racing side of their operations.

"We want to maintain that revenue stream, and keep those people working. That's the goal," Cavacini said.


Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20130306_ap_wvacasinosseekbreakfromtaxesracing.html#ixzz2Mu33ccqU
Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else

 

 

This is how it starts

The groundwork is being laid for taxpayer bailouts. When revenues diminish, the Gambling Investors will seek reduced taxes and other give me's, before seeking bankruptcy protection because of the market saturation they've caused.

In their wake, they'll leave crime-ridden communities destroyed by Gambling Addiction. The Race to the Bottom!


Racinos in neighboring states brace for competition when Cleveland casino opens
Published: Friday, April 06, 2012
By Thomas Ott, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A company that owns two border-state racetrack casinos is girding to take a big hit after Cleveland and Ohio get into the gambling business next month.


Documents that MTR Gaming filed recently with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission warn that Ohio's move to allow casino gambling and let horse tracks install video slot machines could "negatively impact" Presque Isle Downs and Casino near Erie, Pa., and Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in Chester, W.Va.

Ultimately, MTR says, the lost business could hinder attempts to obtain financing and make improvements at the company's Columbus race track, Scioto Downs. A "racino," the industry term for racetracks with slot machines, is to open there next month.

The company reported that Ohio bettors plunked down nearly half the money wagered on slot machines at Presque Isle in the second half of 2011.

Gamblers from Cuyahoga County spent 20 percent of the money spent on slots in the third quarter, a breakdown shows.

And, Ohio gamblers bet three-fourths of the money wagered on slot machines at Mountaineer in the second half of 2011, MTR reported. The third-quarter breakdown shows that 8 percent of the money came from Cuyahoga County but does not give an accounting for other Northeast Ohio counties. [They track their customers!]

"We're poised and ready to compete," Fred Buro, MTR vice president and chief marketing officer, said in an interview. "We're also very realistic. We know there's going to be some adjustment in the market."

Horseshoe Casino Cleveland presents a direct threat, along with two, and possibly three, potential Northeast Ohio racinos. In all, slots could be installed at all seven of the state's race tracks.

The Horseshoe is to open May 14 in downtown Cleveland, making it the first of four Ohio casinos to welcome visitors. The others are being built in Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo.

On Monday afternoon in Erie, Presque Isle drew a modest crowd, with a license-plates in the parking lot indicating that Ohio customers did their share to make the turnout respectable.

Bill and Diane Tucker of Middleburg Heights visit Presque Isle about once a week, driving more than 200 miles round trip, and play the slots for five or six hours. That will stop when the Horseshoe opens.

"We're going to go to Cleveland," said 54-year-old Bill Tucker, a third-shift mechanic at a trucking company. "It's closer to home."

Newburgh Heights residents Joan Kuchta, 51, and Annmarie Lee, 71, go three times a week. They might return occasionally after the Horseshoe opens but look forward to gambling in Cleveland and saving on gas money.

Joanne Bortner, a Presque Isle customer from nearby Meadville, Pa., has cousins who travel to Presque Isle regularly from their home in Cleveland's east suburbs. She may have to soon head to Ohio if she wants to gamble with them.

"They won't be making the trip if they can have it in their own state," she said.

Hotels clustered near the racino at the State Street interchange of Interstate 90 depend on Ohio residents for up to half their traffic, employees say. The employees hear buzz about the Horseshoe as gamblers wait for hotel shuttles.

"I've even had people come out and say, 'You're going to lose business," said Cindy Szymanski, a "guest care coordinator" at a Days Inn.

MTR, which advertises Presque Isle with outdoor signs in and near downtown Cleveland, is not throwing in the towel, Buro said. He said the company has a marketing strategy planned for after the Horseshoe opens, but he would not disclose details.

MTR could capitalize on gamblers' preferences. For example, Presque Isle allows smoking in half of the casino; Ohio law bans smoking at the Horseshoe and the state's other casinos.

Caesars Entertainment, which is a minority partner in the Horseshoe with Dan Gilbert's Rock Gaming LLC and will operate the casino. Horseshoe General Manager Marcus Glover said casino officials think distance from the competition could diminish smoking's sway.

Gamblers also will have a choice between Presque Isle's rural location and sea of parking and Horseshoe's site on Public Square in the heart of the city. Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath has outlined a comprehensive plan for dealing with crime and traffic, but perception can be powerful.

"Some people say, yeah, they're going to try it," said Judy Powell, general manager of a Super 8 hotel near Presque Isle. "Some say they'll never go to downtown Cleveland."

Arneault, Rubino suit tossed

Arneault, Rubino suit tossed; case won't proceed against Erie's Scott, Ambrose, 24 others
By ED PALATTELLA, Erie Times-News

Ted Arneault and Gregory J. Rubino have failed in their attempt to use a federal lawsuit to clear their names in connection with the development of Presque Isle Downs & Casino.

U.S. District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin has dismissed the suit, which Arneault and Rubino filed a year ago against 26 defendants, including members of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Erie developer Nick Scott Sr. and Erie lawyer Leonard Ambrose.

The case centered on a now-lifted ban that the board imposed on Rubino in 2006. Arneault and Rubino claimed the defendants contributed to the imposition of the ban, which Arneault and Rubino said damaged their reputations in the gambling industry.

Arneault was the chief executive of the West Virginia-based MTR Gaming Group Inc. when it opened Presque Isle Downs in Summit Township in February 2007. Rubino, an Erie real estate agent and developer, was the main consultant on the project through his former company, Tecnica Development Corp.

McLaughlin, in an 80-page ruling issued late Wednesday, said Arneault, Rubino and their lawyer, John Mizner, had presented no viable civil-rights claims in their 147-page complaint.

McLaughlin also said some of the suit's claims violated the statute of limitations or had been made against defendants, such as the Gaming Control Board members, with quasi-judicial immunity.

"Neither Arneault nor Rubino has successfully pled an actionable constitutional deprivation," McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin ruled that, even if all the claims in the suit were true, "the law does not offer a remedy," said Ambrose's lawyer, William Pietragallo, of Pittsburgh.

"We felt confident from the beginning," he said. "But we are pleased with the judge's decision."

The defendants also included MTR Gaming Group and several of its former and current officials.

"We are certainly pleased with the court's dismissal of this entire lawsuit, which we have always maintained had no legal merit," Nick Rodriguez-Cayro, MTR's vice president, secretary and general counsel, said in a statement.

The Gaming Control Board is "pleased with the outcome," a spokesman said.

Mizner, the lawyer for Arneault and Rubino, said he is considering appealing to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Philadelphia, or filing three of the dismissed counts in Erie County Court, which McLaughlin said was the proper venue for those three counts.

He unconditionally dismissed the other seven counts.

"This case is factually complicated and involves complex issues of constitutional law," Mizner said. "It is clear that Judge McLaughlin put a tremendous amount of thought and effort into his 80-page opinion."

When the Gaming Control Board banned Rubino, in 2006, Rubino's Tecnica Development received a $4.2 million buyout from MTR. Rubino claimed the board denied his due-process rights by never telling him the reasons for the ban.

Mizner said the ban, though the board lifted it in August, still hurt Rubino, 60, who owns Passport Realty LLC in Erie.

Mizner said Arneault, because of his association with Rubino, was also hurt by the ban. And, he said in the suit, Arneault's reputation suffered when Gaming Control Board officials recommended in January 2010 that Arneault's gaming license not be renewed because of concerns about his character.

After a five-day hearing at which Arneault argued his case for a license, other board officials dropped that recommendation, allowing Arneault to get his license renewed in November 2010.

Arneault, who left MTR as chief executive at age 61 in 2008, now is associated with a prospective harness racing track and casino in New Castle.

Ambrose was a defendant in the federal suit because he presented information to gaming investigators about Rubino. He said he did so under subpoena.

Rubino was the main prosecution witness in the public-corruption trial of former Erie Mayor Rick Filippi, whom Ambrose represented and who was acquitted in 2006. Ambrose also represented Scott, the developer, in an unrelated suit that involved Rubino.

Ambrose's lawyer, Pietragallo, had said Arneault and Rubino's federal suit was a vendetta against Ambrose and the other defendants.

McLaughlin in his ruling did not focus on motivations, but on legal requirements for the suit. He agreed with the defendants that a gaming license is a privilege, not a constitutionally protected right.

He said Arneault's hearing before gaming officials -- after which the Gaming Control Board renewed Arneault's license -- "was adequate to vindicate his reputational interests."

Rubino has not returned to the gambling industry, despite the Gaming Control Board's lifting of the ban. To get a gaming license, he still would have to apply and undergo a review by gaming investigators.

Mizner said Rubino does not intend to apply for a license in light of his prior dealings with the Gaming Control Board.

"It is highly unlikely that any gaming companies would have any interest in doing business with Mr. Rubino because of what the government and others have done to him," Mizner said.

New Bedford Fails! Unregistered lobbyists? No due diligence?

Blame it on my age, I'm just easily confused.

New Bedford is negotiating with whom?

Let's start with the Foundation Gaming Group.

Kinda curious? Consider their web site - UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

Foundation Gaming Group Announces the Successful Completion of its Management and Advisory Role at Harlow’s Casino

Management and Advisory Role? A google search provides little information.

Joseph L. Billhimer, Jr. Joins MTR Gaming Group as Senior Vice President for Operations and Development

Mr. Billhimer has 27 years of experience working in the gaming industry and was most recently the Founder and a Principal of Foundation Gaming Group, an advisory and management services firm for the gaming industry which, among other engagements, successfully managed Harlow’s Casino Resort in Greenville, MS from 2009 to 2010 and marketed its sale to Churchill Downs.

So....if Foundation successfully managed Harlow's beginning in 2009....simple arithemetic tells me that's at least 2 years. You can't construct a web site with solid information in 2 years going on 3?

Now KG Urban Enterprises offers a finished web site.

These appear to be the principals and their projects, with the only completed project appearing to be the Bethlehem Steel site in Pennsylvania for Sands.

Since articles only are posted, the connection to Sands is curious, but Foundation's ultimate 'client' remains concealed.

Now KG appeared before the Ways & Means Committee in 2010 and was actively involved with soliciting support for their project. In other words, their activities seemed to conform with what we might label "LOBBYISTS."

What is really curious is that neither group is listed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth as "LOBBYISTS." Can anyone explain?

Is everyone so blinded by Slot Barn glitter that they fail to conduct their due diligence? No one is asking? Does the New Bedford City Council's focus remain solely on enriching their personal futures with a paid position on some Gambling Advisory Board that they would sell out their City while failing to ask questions?


Council to huddle with developers on casino
By Dan McDonald

NEW BEDFORD — The City Council will meet with representatives of the city's two prospective casino developers tonight to discuss their plans and the state's casino bill.

A joint meeting of two council subcommittees will discuss the bill and the plans of KG Urban Enterprises and the Foundation Gaming Group. Representatives of both groups confirmed they will be in attendance.

The council has also invited representatives of the Aquinnah and Mashpee Wampanoag tribes. It's unclear if they will be in attendance. Calls to both tribes went unreturned Wednesday.

KG Urban Enterprises has proposed a 115,000-square-foot casino at the site of an abandoned NStar plant on Cannon Street.

Foundation Gaming has proposed Revere Landing Casino plans, slotted for the Hicks-Logan area, a 36-acre slice of waterfront land wedged between Route 18 and the harbor, just south of Interstate 195. The site was formerly home to Revere Copper.

Elizabeth Isherwood, a spokeswoman for Foundation Gaming Group, said she will attend the meeting to "listen more than anything."

A spokesman for KG confirmed the group would be represented at the meeting but declined to expound on either the prospective plans or the state's legislation.

Under the current casino bill, there is a tribal caveat for the prospective casino for this region, which includes Bristol and Plymouth counties and Cape Cod and the islands.

The state will hold off on competitive open bidding until July to give any federally recognized tribe a chance to find land, and maybe a commercial partner, and work out a pact with the governor.

The tribal provision troubles some councilors who say it could delay the start of any construction. The federal process of placing land into trust could take a tribe "two to three years," said Councilor David Alves. [Mr. Alves, you are sorely misinformed! No LIT in the original 13 Colonies! Sorry!]

Councilor Steven Martins plans to ask the developers about the state's casino bill.

"I want their take," he said.

Isherwood said Wednesday the state has "complicated the issue by involving the tribes."

Councilor Denis Lawrence Jr. is concerned the tribal caveat will box out the city's prospective casino developers.

"It's not fair; we've been waiting on this forever," said Lawrence. "There might be an extra year to year and a half before the shovel would be put into the ground, when we should be at the forefront of this."

Alves said both sites are among the "most polluted in New England."

"And there's only two ways they're going to get cleaned up: federal dollars through the EPA or deep private pockets," said Alves.

Pennsylvania: Ex-MTR chief sues gambling regulators

Ex-MTR chief sues gambling regulators
By Brian Bowling
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW


Former MTR Gaming Group CEO Edson "Ted" Arneault claims in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Friday that state gambling regulators published false and malicious allegations against him without attempting to first investigate the information.

Arneault, who lives in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., is joined in the lawsuit by Erie real estate agent Gregory J. Rubino, who claims the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board also violated his constitutional rights by banning him from the industry since 2006 without explaining the decision or providing him with a chance to clear his name.

John F. Mizner, the Erie lawyer representing Arneault and Rubino, said the state's actions have cost both men millions of dollars in lost opportunities because no one in the gambling industry will do business with them.

"You have to have an impeccable reputation without so much as a hint of bad character or a hint of association with someone of bad character," Mizner said.

The 124-page lawsuit states the main source of the allegations against Rubino and Arneault is another Erie lawyer, Leonard Ambrose III. Ambrose successfully defended former Erie Mayor Rick Filippi in a 2006 public corruption trial in which Rubino was the main witness against the mayor.

The lawsuit names 26 defendants, including several gaming board executives and employees, MTR Gaming and some of its executives, Ambrose, Erie businessman Nicholas C. Scott and one of his companies.

The lawsuit claims that Ambrose, in retaliation for Rubino's testimony, told a gaming board investigator that Rubino was connected to the Mafia but could not be arrested because the FBI was using him as an informant. Rubino states in the lawsuit that he's neither a Mafioso nor an FBI informant.

Ambrose and Doug Harbach, spokesman for the gaming board, said in separate interviews that they had not seen the lawsuit and declined comment.

Rubino worked with Arneault and MTR Gaming as a consultant when they developed plans for the Presque Isle Downs casino and racetrack in Erie. In 2006, the gaming board insisted the company disassociate itself from Rubino before it could obtain its license, according to the lawsuit.

In the ensuing five years, the board has repeatedly refused to explain its decision or hold a hearing, the lawsuit states. The ban cost Rubino more than $12 million he would have earned as royalties from the Presque Isle Downs contract, according to the lawsuit.

Arneault left MTR — which also operates Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort in West Virginia — in 2008, and his successors at the company used his close ties to Rubino in an attempt to block the renewal of his gambling license, the lawsuit claims.

Scott denied he or his company conspired with the gaming board employees. "The allegations are meritless," he said.

John W. Bittner, executive vice president and chief financial officer of MTR, declined comment.

Arneault and Rubino claim in the lawsuit that they learned about Ambrose's role in their troubles when Arneault's attorneys on Aug. 10 deposed a gaming board inspector during Arneault's $2 million successful battle to renew his gambling license.

MTR lost less

MTR Gaming trims 4th-qtr loss on lower expenses
Associated Press
CHESTER, W.Va. --

Casino operator MTR Gaming Group Inc. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter loss narrowed as it recorded lower expenses and revenue rose in gambling, food, beverage and lodging revenue all rose.

The company reported a loss of $2.8 million, or 10 cents a share, for the three months that ended Dec. 31. That compares with a loss of $24.2 million, or 88 cents a share, in the period a year earlier.

MTR and its subsidiaries own and operate Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in Chester, Presque Isle Downs & Casino in Erie, Pa., and Scioto Downs in Columbus, Ohio.

Revenue at Mountaineer fell 12 percent ....

Slot Barns: Declining Revenues

Atlantic City Casino Gambling Fell 12% in October


NEW YORK (TheStreet) - Casino stocks are in the red on downgrades and a weak recovery in the Las Vegas locals market.

Las Vegas Sands(LVS) is falling 4.3%...

But the recovery in the Las Vegas locals market remains non-existent, as gaming revenue slipped 0.3%...Boyd Gaming, which operates a large chunk of its casinos in the locals market, are tumbling 4%...
Slot machine maker International Game Technologies (IGT) is dropping 2.9%...after reporting fourth-quarter results that missed estimates and issued a disappointing outlook.


MTR Gaming Group Inc. is reporting a $1.5 million profit for the quarter ending Sept. 30, even though revenues fell at its flagship West Virginia property.

MTR owns and operates Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in Chester, Presque Isle Downs & Casino in Erie, Pa., and Scioto Downs in Columbus, Ohio.


CHESTER, W.Va., Nov 08, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- MTR Gaming Group, Inc.

Net revenues at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort decreased 13%...

Current period costs included severance charges of $1.3 million, while the prior-year period included costs of $3.7 million associated with lobbying and gaming efforts in Ohio.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2010, MTR's total net revenues decreased 6%...

The loss from continuing operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 included incremental interest expense of $9.4 million,... incurred as a result of the issuance of the Company's $260 million senior notes in the third quarter of 2009. The income from continuing operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 included a pre-tax loss of $2.8 million,... associated with the refinancing of debt. The net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 was $2.3 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, compared to net income of $1.7 million ... for the same period of 2009. Prior-year results included income of $1.4 million... from discontinued operations.

Full House Resorts reports profit down from last year

Full House is a partner in a casino called FireKeepers in Michigan, the Stockman's casino in Fallon and at the Harrington Raceway in Delaware.

During the third quarter, Full House acquired the Grand Victoria Casino and Resort in Rising Sun, Ind., for about $43 million. The deal was expected to close during the first quarter of 2011.


SugarHouse Slot Barn Revenue: downward trend

West Virginia: Gambling Funds Not Sure Thing

Gambling Funds Not Sure Thing

Every year we West Virginians in effect throw the dice in regard to gambling revenue that pumps hundreds of millions of dollars into the state budget. Thus far, our luck has held. Legalized gambling in its various forms has been a reasonably reliable jackpot for the state.

But that is changing. As we predicted years ago, other states have legalized gambling. Pennsylvania has full-fledged casinos. Ohio will have them soon. That has hurt two of our state's four casinos, in Wheeling and Chester.

During the weekend it was reported the primary stockholder of MTR Gaming, which owns the Chester casino and racetrack, is concerned about the company's future. Options "up to and including potential sale of the company" may be discussed. That revelation came on the heels of news that both MTR's chief executive officer and its chief financial officer resigned from the firm.

Financial challenges facing MTR are no secret. Top executives do not resign from companies where they believe the future is bright. Big stockholders do not seek discussions such as those reported unless they are worried.

While any talk of catastrophic events at the Chester casino and track is premature, it is clear MTR is experiencing difficulty. That may have a dramatic effect on gambling revenue for the state of West Virginia.

Yet, to our knowledge, state officials have not begun discussing a future without assured revenue from gambling.

That is no more realistic than an individual walking into a casino with the belief that he's bound to get lucky on a given night.

Once again - as we have urged several times in the past: State officials need to develop a contingency plan to deal with massive loss of gambling revenue. We can't just keep rolling the dice and assuming they will never come up "snake eyes."