Genting

Genting invaded Massachusetts as the financial Sugar Daddy of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe without scrutiny, currently operates Aqueduct in New York where numerous questionable horse racing accidents and deaths have been widely publicized. 

Genting is buying politicians in New York, Florida, Nevada and who knows where to suck the last discretionary dollar out of your pocket. 

One to watch! 



Cops investigating if Indonesian maid raped by employer

The Star Online

Gruesome task: Police officers looking for the body of the infant in Genting Highlands. The body was found and taken to hospital for a post-mortem.

The Rakyat Post Syndicate holds maids as sex slaves The Star Online GENTING HIGHLANDS: The arrest of a foreign maid agent for dumping the body of a baby has led to the discovery of a syndicate that has been ... Animal Rights Groups to Genting, “Free the Dolphins!” CalvinAyre.com ⋅ Kirby Garlitos Like any casino operator worth its salt, Genting isn't immune to all sorts of protests from various sectors of society. But the latest one could rank as one ...

New York forced Genting to buy lobbyists and politicians.

Florida forced Genting to jump through a few hoops and endure the illusion of rejection....for the time being.

Massachusetts simply handed them a blank check - no scrutiny, no discussion.

Good Neighbor Genting

By: Nancy Smith
Posted: March 20, 2013

Too soon old, too late schmart -- a German saying I just bastardized, but it fits the cagey customers negotiating in Miami for Genting.

They figured out how to get schmart sooner rather than later.

The Genting Group might have laid a little low at the Florida Gaming Congress last month, but you know darn well the Malaysian conglomerate still wants a casino resort on that $236 million property it purchased from The Miami Herald two years ago.Here's the thing.
They know they can't have it right now, no way, no how. This year is out. So what do they do? Instead of railing against the city of Miami and the state, instead of whining or bullying or digging in their heels and raising the hackles of a community that welcomes newcomers but wants them to be good citizens first -- instead of all that, they quietly, obediently scale back.Genting is going smaller and smiling about it.Genting will show Miami what it does and how well it can do it, and in the end -- mark my words -- it's going to have the city behind it, pushing like a mother in labor for the Magic City's newest, richest, best-behaved neighbor to get that casino resort expansion.

A corporation that creates a whole division for a 13.9-acre development site means business. A whole division. That's what Genting did when it brought Resorts World Miami (RWM) to life. Then, when offers to buy the property rolled in after the Legislature scotched casino gambling there, the corporation showed its first commitment to Miami by turning them down, one by one.

In a March 14 Miami Herald story, "Genting's new vision calls for luxury hotel, condos," Bill Thompson, senior vice president of development for RWM, explains how the new, trimmed-down RWM/Genting play-ball plans are going to win hearts and minds all over Miami-Dade. He didn't put it quite like that, but you be the judge.

-- The downgrade from grandiose: Only half of the original site -- the half that includes the bayfront and historic Boulevard Shops on Biscayne Boulevard -- will be developed. Imploded or bulldozed, the 5-acre Herald building will make way for a pedestal structure with three towers on top. Each condo tower will have several hundred units that could go for $700 per square foot or more, and a four- or five-star hotel will feature about 500 rooms.

-- Love potion No. 1: Thompson says all elements will follow the Miami 21 zoning code. "We're not asking for anything that is not allowed," he tells the Herald. "We're not asking for any variances or waivers. We're not closing streets."

-- Love potion No. 2: Remember how critics of the original design complained it was a monster that blocked the waterfront? In the new plan, two amply sized "view corridors" will be cut through the base of the structure.

-- Love potion No. 3: The public will be able to access the waterfront on the old Herald property for the first time. RWM has plans for a 50-foot-wide promenade in a tiered design, complete with restaurants overlooking Biscayne Bay. Pedestrians can jump on "from the Genting project under the I-395 overpass to the new Museum Park via a boardwalk that Genting plans to build out into the bay," says the Herald.

-- Love potions No. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8: A "heavily landscaped park" to link to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on the south side. A landscaped walkway with retail shops along the north side. A marina to accommodate large boats (state approval needed). Endless good-faith planning meetings with downtown stakeholders. Willingness to spend "a couple of million dollars" to return the wow factor to the once-grand Boulevard Shops along Biscayne Boulevard.

The Genting folks, who clearly are enamored of the city they bought into, learned fast. Within a year they got Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and Arsht Center Chairman Mike Edison on their side. They already have a reputation in the neighborhood for openness and cooperation, for a sense of what Miami is and wants to become.

Other resort casino developers looking at Florida have exciting plans of their own, no doubt. And I'd like to see them. But Genting is already an interesting story. It made an investment it might have given up on, except for a couple of things: It found so much about Miami to love, practiced the art of compromise, and because it had the money to do so -- opted to blend and stay patient.

I may not live to see it, but I believe soon enough -- just off Biscayne Bay -- yes, with local folks cheering it on -- Genting and Miami and Florida will get one fabulous, state-of-the-art destination casino.
 http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/good-neighbor-genting

What we allow.......

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's Piggy Bank, Genting was invited into the Commonwealth with no oversight or scrutiny by blinded lawmakers, political hacks and Governor Slot Barns.

No one questions, challenges or considers. Even labor unions blindly follow. Below are several articles and little time will be wasted posting them in their entirety.

Anyone who vaguely accepts the notion that Predatory Gambling can 're-make' itself needs to be questioned.   

CIMB Research: Genting's Las Vegas investment a negative surprise
The Star Online
KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research said Genting Bhd's decision to invest in the abandoned Echelon Resort project in Las Vegas is a negative surprise and a risky move into a highly competitive market. However, the research house said on Tuesday it ...

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Equities Research said Genting Bhd's decision to invest in the abandoned Echelon Resort project in Las Vegas is a negative surprise and a risky move into a highly competitive market.

However, the research house said on Tuesday it remains positive on Genting as a value play despite Genting's move to pay US$350mil to take over the project on the Las Vegas Strip.

"We assume that the revived project is NPV neutral at this stage, and maintain our RNAV-based target price. We trim our FY14/15 EPS forecasts by 0.1 to 0.3 percentage points on the cash needed for the project's equity," it said.

"Outperform maintained. Key catalysts are internal restructuring possibilities within the group," it added.

To recap, Genting is paying US$350m to take over the project and an independent valuation of the project at its current uncompleted state is US$703mil, including the value of the 87-acre freehold land at US$349mil.

The Echelon was supposed to be a US$4bil multi-use Integrated Resort project, the research house believes Genting will be scaling it down to a US$2bil 3,500-room integrated resorts that will be rebranded as Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV), to be completed in 2015.

CIMB Research said there will be an option to scale up the investment further with partners at a later point.

"While we were hoping that Genting would broaden its gaming exposure following the sale of its Malaysian power assets for RM2.3bil, RWLV creates a confusing and disjointed corporate structure because the project should be under Genting Malaysia since the US and UK markets were believed to be within Genting Malaysia's jurisdiction.

"Genting Malaysia also has a stronger financial ability to absorb the project. Although Genting has RM2.3bil in cash at the holding company level, it only has RM500mil of operating cashflow a year to meet its equity commitments in its Indonesian power and O&G investments.

"We estimate that Genting will need to inject another RM633mil in equity per annum over the next three years into RWLV. Entering the highly competitive Las Vegas market is also in stark contrast to the group's monopolistic track record," said CIMB Research.

New Genting megaresort expected to be big boost for the Strip
VEGAS INC
“I think we've turned conditional wisdom on its head today when you see the type of investment we have here with this Genting group,” Gov. Brian Sandoval told VEGAS INC. “I think people will see that this is a part of the evolution of Las Vegas. It's a ...

Genting Group bets on Vegas revival
Cherry Hill Courier Post
A Malaysian conglomerate said Monday, March 4, 2013, it will break ground next year on a project that could breathe new economic life into a tired stretch of the Las Vegas Strip where work has stalled during the recession. The Genting Group said it ...

Malaysia's Genting buys Las Vegas Strip property
GlobalPost
Malaysian gaming giant Genting Group on Monday bought a piece of the Las Vegas Strip from Boyd Gaming Group for $350 million in cash, its first foray into the US gambling capital. Genting will build a hotel-casino complex on the 87-acre (35-hectare) ...

Genting goes all-in - plus some pandas - for Asian-themed Las Vegas resort
Las Vegas Review - Journal
The hour-long news conference included two videos; a presentation on Genting's massive worldwide holdings; and Steelman's conceptual treatment of Resorts World Las Vegas, an Asian-themed development with seven hotel towers surrounding an 8 million ...



Genting Connected to Islamic Extremists?

Genting is the current Gambling Investor supporting the Mashpee Wampanoag lifestyle.

Genting Connected to Islamic Extremists?

The money rush is on. A shady, but well-heeled Asian casino gambling giant swoops into town, buys an outdated office facility and valuable underlying real estate from the Miami Herald and launches a multi-million dollar campaign to approve non-Indian casino gambling in Florida and put a license on the former Miami Herald tract.

Kuala Lumpur-based Genting has multinational operations in tourism, resorts, gambling, plantations, power generation, and oil and gas. Genting’s market capitalization value, or net worth, reached $46 billion at the end of last year — making it one of Malaysia’s largest companies.

The Miami Herald suspends their normally skeptical eye, conducts no due-diligence on their new Chinese friends from Malaysia and their newspaper becomes a public relations machine for a client they don’t even really know.

Every glad-handing semi-corrupt politician in Miami-Dade and the City of Miami with their hand out will be jumping on the Genting gravy train. Genting is a target for every con-man lobbyist/political consultant/PR man which Miami-Dade County abounds with.

Recently a group of “Community Leaders” were flown to South East Asia including visits to Genting casinos in Malaysia and Singapore. Genting refuses to disclose the names of “Community Leaders” – including elected officials – who were flown to South East Asia in a private luxury jet and wined and dined at 5-Star resorts reserved for high-rollers in the Asian gaming world.

World Resorts Genting, also known as Genting Highlands, opened in 1965 and is the company’s flagship resort in Malaysia. The resort features Malaysia’s only land-based casino, six hotels, three theme parks, a convention center, and numerous restaurants and nightclubs, among other attractions.

Resorts World Sentosa, which opened last year in Singapore, features one of the world’s most expensive casinos, six hotels, a Universal Studios theme park and a Marine Life Park, among other features. The Florida Delegation visited both, reportedly racking up more than $790,000 worth of hotel, restaurant, spa and entertainment costs in both 5-Star resorts.

Genting has retained a team of slick lobbyists including Jonathan Kilman, with the law firm of Foley & Lardner. Kilman’s partner, Chris Kise, is under investigation for erasing email records generated during Governor Rick Scott’s Inauguration. The missing emails are thought to contain correspondence exposing the business dealings of Kise and Scott’s political adviser Enu Mainigi. Scott has ordered the FDLE review. Kise insists the emails were erased accidently. Foley and Lardner’s influence in the Governor’s office is not likely to be strong in 2012.

Before it’s over, expect that Genting, their lobbyists, and other retainers, will lavish the Republican Party of Florida and other selected party redistricting vehicles with millions of dollars. They’ll even buy Governor Rick Scott a golden toilet seat for the Governors mansion is he wants!

Genting, the Asian casino giant, does not hold a casino gaming license in any U.S. jurisdiction that has serious regulation. New York State requires relatively little scrutiny in the contract Genting has with the State of New York to operate slot machines at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Genting made millions of dollars as the money-men behind two controversial Indian Casino gaming developments in the Eastern United States. In both cases, Genting operations were directed by G. Michael Brown, a former New Jersey Attorney General who was later charged with embezzlement and cocaine use in the Seneca Tribal Court.

Brown was charged with putting various mistresses on the casino payroll and using casino funds to pay for luxury condominiums, imported sports cars and expensive jewelry for them. Brown famously drove a 4-door sedan owned by the Seneca Tribe through the picture window of a Niagara Falls resident while driving drunk.

Genting was the financier of the Seneca Niagara Casino Hotel in Niagara Falls, New York. Genting charged the tribe an exorbitant 28 percent interest rate, potentially in violation of the Indian Gaming Regulations under the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Genting also stayed in the deal for almost 15 years when they were legally limited to five. Seneca Tribal Council members have testified that armed Chinese thugs showed up to collect Genting’s money when tribal lawyers pointed out that Genting was violating the law.
All of this became known to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, which held hearings and launched an investigation into corruption in the Indian gaming industry in the United States. But what the Senate Committee found out about Genting was even more disturbing: an apparent pattern of multi-million dollar payments to Islamic extremist organizations in Malaysia who most definitely are not friends of the United States of America.

U.S. Senate Special Committee records regarding Genting and their financing of multiple Islamic-based organizations in Malaysia are classified. Some U.S. Senator needs to launch an investigation to determine whether Genting has relationships that would make their holding a casino license in Miami (a money machine) inappropriate. U.S. Senate staff investigators should get a firm understanding of Genting’s questionable relationships in Malaysia and China.

Genting executives told Senate investigators at the time that the millions of dollars funneled to various Islamic extremist organizations known to finance jihad were made under direst and viewed as a cost of doing business for a Chinese businessman in heavily Islam-run Malaysia. Investigators had reason to be skeptical when photos of K.T. Lim and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il surfaced. The Senate investigators also obtained photos of Lim socializing with at least two Islamic figures wanted by the United States for terrorist activities.
Senate investigators were also interested in K.T. Lim’s relationship with Stanley Ho, the Asian casino magnate who has been identified as a member of the Chinese Triad, the Chinese crime organization, by the U.S. Justice Department and by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Ho has been denied a casino license in every jurisdiction except in Macau and North Korea. Genting has refused to address their business dealings with Ho and his company Shun Tak Holdings Ltd.

While the Miami Herald is telling us that Genting boss K.T. Lim is a brilliant businessman, he could be one of the largest funders of Islamic terrorist activity in Asia. Instead of giving press conferences to the Miami Herald, perhaps K.T. should be interrogated under subpoena by U.S. Senate lawyers.

The Miami-Dade politicians who suck up Genting’s food, drink and accommodations and support Genting’s development will jump off of them like rats when they learn where a substantial portion of Genting’s profits in Florida may be going. Just because Genting has a lot of money doesn’t mean that they are suitable to operate casinos in the United States based on their associations and business practices.

Neither Governor Rick Scott, nor Senate President Mike Haridopolos will agree to casino gaming without a local county referendum. Perhaps Miami’s Cuban voters should decide whether they want to approve a casino for a foreign company who could be financing Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Nothing short of full disclosure of all the finances and holdings of Genting should be required under Florida casino regulation. If they deny ties to radical Islam only full disclosure will verify this claim, a protection the public requires.

New Jersey Casino Control law is considered the toughest in the country and is the model for casino regulation in the rest of the country. Nevada’s regulations are similar, but the process in that small state is “more political.” Florida’s casino regulation must not and cannot be lax. We need to know far, far more about Genting and their friends before they get a casino license in Florida.

 

Genting Quarterly Slides 53%

Genting is the Malaysian financial backer of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe hoping to suck discretionary income from the Taunton area.

Genting Quarterly Net Slides 53% With Lower Gaming Revenue

By Chong Pooi Koon on November 30, 2012

Genting Bhd. (GENT), the Malaysian company which controls casino operators in Southeast Asia, the U.S. and the U.K., said third-quarter profit fell 53 percent as gaming revenue and palm oil prices declined.

Net income dropped to 279.4 million ringgit ($92 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, or 7.6 sen a share, from 597.2 million ringgit, or 16.2 sen, a year earlier, the company said in a filing to the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange yesterday. Revenue declined 14 percent to 4.2 billion ringgit.

The company posted its third consecutive quarterly drop in profit after its Singapore unit, which runs one of the island-state’s two gaming resorts, reported a 47 percent slump in net income. Genting Singapore Plc plans to open new attractions, including Marine Life Park, on Dec. 7 at its Resorts World Sentosa casino resort in the city-state to boost sales.

“The full opening of Resorts World Sentosa will allow the company to capitalize on sales and marketing initiatives that appeal to a wider base of affluent travelers and new markets,”Genting said in its exchange filing.

Genting Singapore, which opened its casino resort in the city-state at the start of 2010, reported gaming revenue dropped 20 percent in the third quarter as slower economic growth and tighter rules curbed spending by gamblers.

‘Volatile’ Singapore

Shares of Genting have declined 18 percent in Kuala Lumpur this year, compared with a 5.2 percent advance in the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index. The stock climbed 2 percent to close at 9 ringgit in Kuala Lumpur, its biggest daily gain since Oct. 1.

Genting Malaysia Bhd. (GENM), a unit operating the only casino resort in the Southeast Asia nation, fell 2.3 percent to 3.42 ringgit. Genting Singapore advanced 2.4 percent to S$1.28 in Singapore trading.

“Genting’s dependency on the volatile Singapore market, which is currently facing some headwinds with the ever-changing government regulations, would be an obstacle to its share price performance in the medium term,” Hoe Lee Leng, an analyst at RHB Capital Bhd., wrote in a report today.

Genting last year got 40 percent of its total revenue from Singapore and another 40 percent from Malaysia, while the U.S. contributed 10 percent and the U.K. accounted for 6 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The group said it lost money in the U.K during the quarter, while profit from its gaming business in Malaysia rose 2 percent, according to the statement.

Genting’s plantation division saw profit contributions drop 21 percent to 122.3 million ringgit, it said yesterday. Pretax profit from power generation more than doubled to 73.6 million ringgit.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chong Pooi Koon in Kuala Lumpur at pchong17@bloomberg.net

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-11-29/genting-quarterly-profit-slides-53-percent-with-lower-gaming-revenue

Mashpee Tribe Debt Mounts

Illustration by Justin Metz

[Taken from: The Big Gamble]

Mashpee Tribe Debt Mounts Into The Millions As Casino Pursuit Drags On

By: Brian Kehrl
Published: 11/02/12

 

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and its gaming corporation have been approved to borrow an additional $13 million from casino investors, bringing the tribe’s total potential debt to nearly $40 million in the past three years.

The tribe since October 2009 has exhausted its original, $25 million loan from Arkana Limited, a firm related to Malaysian resort casino developers Genting Group, according to documents obtained by the Enterprise and interviews with tribe members. This year the tribe has received approval to borrow $13 million from R.W. Investments Limited, another Genting-related firm.

The $13 million comes at a minimum of 15 percent interest, according to the documents detailing the loan.

The investors’ money has been used to fund both the tribal government’s day-to-day expenses and a variety of professional services used to pursue a $500 million resort casino in Taunton, according to budget documents.

What remains unclear is whether the tribe will be required to repay the debt should the casino fall through. Tribal council Chairman Cedric Cromwell has said publicly in the past that the tribe would not have to repay the debt, and a member of the tribal council said he has been told the same by tribal leaders.

“Well, that is the million-dollar question that you can’t get a clear answer to. Our leaders tell us that, if we don’t get a casino, obviously we can’t pay the loan back. But in the documents, it is not clear,” said Carlton H. Hendricks Jr., a member of the tribal council who voted against the additional debt and was asked about the measure by the Enterprise. “There is nothing in there that says this investment is based on us getting a casino. Where does it say that? Where does it say, if we don’t get a casino, it was a bad investment for them, and the debt is forgiven. You can’t find it in there because it doesn’t say that.”

Well, that is the million-dollar question that you can’t get a clear answer to. Our leaders tell us that, if we don’t get a casino, obviously we can’t pay the loan back. But in the documents, it is not clear.

Carlton Hendricks Jr.

Other tribe members said in interviews that they have not been allowed to see the loan documents and so do not know the terms.

The tribe and the Mashpee Wampanoag Gaming Authority, a corporation created by the tribe to develop and maintain a casino, both agreed to waive essentially all sovereign immunity from lawsuits in matters related to the loan, according to the documents.

A promissory note setting the terms for a $13,030,000 loan from R.W. Investments was recently obtained by the Enterprise, along with a copy of a tribal council resolution approving additional debt.

Included with the promissory note, the fourth since June of this year, are a series of financial and risk disclosures the tribe was required to make under the terms of the loan.

Documents Lead To More Questions

The documents do not provide a complete picture of the tribe’s relationship with its casino investors.

Missing are the terms of the tribe’s original loan from Arkana and a clear statement of the date at which the loans are due to be repaid, among many other details.

It is also not clear from the documents how the $13 million relates to the tribe’s original $25 million loan. However, a source close to the tribal council, who requested anonymity in order to speak freely about tribal matters, said the $13 million is on top of the original loan, which has already been spent, bringing the total principal debt to approximately $38 million.

According to a budget presented to tribe members at the beginning of 2012, the tribal council spent approximately $5 million per year in investor revenue in 2010 and 2011, and planned to spend $16 million in investor revenue this year.

The loan documents do, however, give the most informative glimpse yet into the debt Mr. Cromwell and other tribal leaders have been willing to take on as they expand the tribe’s government and seek permission to build a casino that could change the face of southeastern Massachusetts and the tribe itself.

R.W. Investments Limited appears to be related to Resorts World New York, the developer of a casino near New York City that is listed on the loan documents as the primary contact for the lender. The second contact listed is Genting Malaysia Berhad, in Kuala Lampur.

An executive listed on the loan document as the point of contact for Resorts World New York did not return a message left yesterday morning seeking comment.

A telephone number for R.W. Investments, which is incorporated on the Isle of Man, could not be located.

The promissory note was not filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mr. Cromwell announced a financing deal with Arkana in October 2009, a move that immediately enhanced the credibility of the tribe’s pursuit of a casino. Genting and its affiliates are one of the largest resort casino developers in the world. The Genting-related firms replaced prior major investors Sol Kerzner, Len Wolman, and Herb Strather.

Through a spokesman, Mr. Cromwell declined this week to directly respond to a list of questions about the loan and its consequences for the tribe.

Through a spokesman, Mr. Cromwell declined this week to directly respond to a list of questions about the loan and its consequences for the tribe. Instead, he provided the following statement in writing:

“Our financial decisions are made by Tribal Council in accordance with our Constitution, and communicated to Tribal membership with the goal of respecting both Tribal citizens’ right to be informed and the confidential nature of such information. The fact that these documents have been stolen and distributed outside of our Tribe is not only disappointing, it is a threat to our Tribal sovereignty and self-governance. We are fortunate that we have a financial partner that has confidence in our Tribe and our inevitable right to conduct gaming as well as the ability to provide the funding necessary to achieve our economic development goals.”

‘Tons Of Lawyers’

Mr. Hendricks, who was elected to the tribal council in 2010 and has been a staunch opponent of the Cromwell administration, said he is concerned that the tribe has taken on millions of dollars in debt in three years, yet rank and file tribe members have seen few benefits.

“The services we are providing to tribe members are slim to none. When you step back and look at it, what do we have?” he said in a telephone interview this week. “We have tons of lawyers. We have tons of consultants...The debt that we are building up for these guys is absolutely ridiculous.”

We have tons of lawyers. We have tons of consultants...The debt that we are building up for these guys is absolutely ridiculous.

Carlton Hendricks Jr.
 

According to budget documents obtained by the Enterprise, the tribe spent $2.6 million on professional services and other casino pre-development costs in June and July alone.
Included among the professional services paid by the tribe are at least 11 law firms, two lobbying firms, and three gaming consulting companies. The law firms range from large corporations with offices around the world to individual attorneys in private practice.

Steven Bingham, a tribe member who has opposed the Cromwell administration, questioned whether the attorneys and other specialists have the tribe’s best interests in mind. Because their payments come from the casino investors, via the tribe, he said the lawyers may be more concerned with the welfare of the investors than the tribe itself.

Mr. Bingham, who also obtained a copy of the loan documents, pointed to the state-tribe gaming compact as evidence that the attorneys are not looking out for the tribe. The compact was recently rejected by the US Bureau of Indian Affairs for including several measures that clearly run contrary to federal protections for tribes.

The rejection of the compact likely delayed the tribe’s casino pursuit by at least several months.

Many tribe members are not aware of the debt the tribe has taken on, according to Paul Mills, a tribe member who attributed the lack of information to the council becoming more secretive in recent years. Mr. Mills said he has not been engaged in tribal politics as much as he has in the past, but he does not hear news of the tribal council circulating around the community like he used to.

Mr. Hendricks said the council operates in a manner meant to prevent documents getting out. At meetings when they are asked to approve financial decisions, council members are given documents at the start of the meeting and then asked to return them at the end. Often an attorney will sit in on the meetings via a conference call. “I don’t know how you got ahold of this because we are not allowed to take things home,” he said when reached with questions about the documents.

The Tribe's Pursuit Of A Casino
Mashpee Tribe, State Gaming Deal Denied (October 2012)
Carcieri Fix Key To Mashpee Tribe's Reservation Plans (October 2012)
No Meeting About Mashpee Tribe Land Claim (August 2012)
 

According to the tribal council resolution approving additional debt this past summer, four council members voted in favor, two in opposition, and three did not vote.

The source close to the tribal council said the majority of the members of the council are employed or otherwise paid by the tribal government, so they have a personal stake in seeing that the revenue from investors continues to flow.

According to the promissory note, the 15 percent per year interest increases by 5 percent if the gaming authority takes on additional senior debt.

The loan document does not specify a date at which payments are due, but it gives the lender the right to call for repayment in full at any time.

The waiver of sovereign immunity allows the tribe and the gaming authority to be sued in state or federal court for matters relating to the loan. “The waivers of sovereign immunity and consents to jurisdiction contained in this Note, including without limitation this Section 12, are irrevocable and the Tribal Parties expressly agree that such other Parties will be irreparably injured upon any revocation or limitation hereof,” according to the documents.

The loan specifically excuses individual tribe members and officers from personal liability.

The tribal parties are required under the loan to provide monthly financial statements to the lender, and to give the lenders the right to access the tribe’s and the gaming authority’s financial statements.

http://www.capenews.net/communities/mashpee/news/2180

Patrick concerned new casino compact could attract opposition

Is anyone asking if the Mashpee Wampanoag/Genting has completed an Application?
Is anyone wondering about those who 'negotiated' this deal?

 

 

Patrick concerned new casino compact could attract opposition

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

Posted Oct 16, 2012

As he heads back to the negotiating table with the Mashpee-Wampanoag Tribe to redraft a gaming compact rejected by the federal government, Gov. Deval Patrick noted Monday that the agreement was “not without dissenters” in the Legislature.

 

 

 

If the state is forced to repeatedly resubmit a compact to the federal government, it could meet roadblocks in the Legislature, although it was overwhelmingly approved this session.

 

“They are not going to keep approving whatever we put in front of them,” Patrick told reporters during a visit to the State House press gallery.

 

When lawmakers debated the gaming compact this summer, several opponents expressed concerns that a deal with the tribe would be tied up in the federal government approval process for years, preventing the southeastern part of the state from benefitting from expanded gambling.

 

Patrick said his administration was working its way through the analysis of the Bureau of Indian Affairs decision and did not yet have a timeline for resubmitting a compact. “It is very frustrating for us the bureau would substitute their own judgment,” Patrick said.

 

In a letter to the governor and the tribe on Friday, the bureau objected to the balance of concessions made by the state to justify a revenue-sharing agreement that would send 21.5 percent of net casino revenue to the state.

 

The federal government also ruled the Patrick administration overstepped its authority by including hunting and fishing rights in the gaming compact, and for also trying to exert authority over non-gaming issues like the regulation of entertainment and suppliers.

 

 

 

“We have to work our way through the analysis. We as a commonwealth, the tribe with their advisors, and then we come back to the table,” he said. Patrick would not commit to lowering the state’s revenue share. “We are going to go back to the table and see. I am not forecasting any position,” he said. “I will tell you again that both we and the tribe think the bureau was wrong to substitute their judgment for that of well-informed and well-supported parties.”

Read more: Patrick concerned new casino compact could attract opposition - Wareham, MA - Wicked Local Wareham http://www.wickedlocal.com/wareham/topstories/x1890060174/Patrick-concerned-new-casino-compact-could-attract-opposition#ixzz29YyIqz94

Aqueduct: Almost 3 Slot Machine per EMPLOYEE

In terms of CRIME, what does 'negligible' mean? Let's talk facts and statistics! Having grown up in New York, I watched as OTB sucked the lifeblood out of poor communities, made them unlivable, chased out small businesses and caused unimaginable blight. New York politicians have never been honest about the effects of Predatory Gambling. 

New York politicians are a dazzling bunch that refuse to do the hard work of 'reform' and instead seek the lazy way. Wait until they reveal the Wizard!  

Aqueduct racino and tax coffers in the chips

• By CARL CAMPANILE

October 13, 2012 

This is one gamble that paid off.

The Aqueduct Resorts World “racino” in Queens is celebrating its one-year anniversary — amid positive reviews from state officials and community leaders that the facility has boosted jobs and swelled Albany’s coffers in a fragile economy.

Gamblers have waged more than $11 billion in bets playing at the Big A’s 5,000 video lottery terminal slots and electronic table games.  [AUTOMATED TABLE GAMES.] 

Operated by Malaysian-based Genting, the casino has more than 1,750 workers and has generated more than $410 million in revenue for the government. Of that, $263 million funds public education and $86 million goes to prop up New York’s horse-racing industry. [Taxpayer subsidies for the DEAD Horse Racing Industry]

2.9 Slot Machines per Low Wage Employee

“I give the casino an ‘A’ grade. It’s running. It’s making money. The impact on the community has been negligible,” said Betty Bratton, chairwoman of Community Board 10 in Ozone Park, where Aqueduct is located. 

“The two concerns we had in the beginning was traffic and crime — neither of which materialized. Overall, we are very pleased,” added Bratton.

[In terms of CRIME, what does 'negligible' mean? Let's talk facts and statistics! Having grown up in New York, I watched as OTB sucked the lifeblood out of poor communities, made them unlivable, chased out small businesses and caused unimaginable blight. New York politicians have never been honest about the effects of Predatory Gambling.]

The casino opened its first wing on Oct. 28 of last year. The second level opened by year’s end.

“Resorts World is proud to have far exceeded all first-year revenue and tax expectations this year, even while being completely open for just ten months,” said RW casino president Michael Speller.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/queens/aqueduct_racino_and_tax_coffers_wjTWLWlDWQV1GSvz9HFMHO

BIA Thumbs Down

Bureau of Indian Affairs rejects Mashpee tribe's casino deal

By George Brennan

October 12, 2012

The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs has rejected the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe's deal with Gov. Deval Patrick, throwing a curveball at the tribe's plans to build a $500 million casino in Taunton, the state and tribe said.

The reason for rejection was not announced, but was something Indian casino experts predicted was a distinct possibility because the tribe's deal to pay the state 21.5 percent of gross gambling revenues was the most lucrative compact ever negotiated between a tribe and state.

Commercial casinos will pay the Bay State 25 percent of gross gambling revenues, but federal Indian casinos are exempt from such taxes. Federal Indian gambling laws do allow tribes to provide revenue sharing with a state provided they are getting something in return.

The tribe and Patrick will head back to the negotiating table to tweak the agreement, according to a provision of the compact reached in July.

Tribe leaders and Patrick had said they were confident the BIA would see the value in concessions offered by the state in exchange for the revenue. For example, the state agreed to negotiate with the Mashpee tribe even though it does not yet have land in federal trust. The state also agreed to lobby on the tribe's behalf on the land issue and to support the tribe's efforts to codify aboriginal hunting and fishing rights and to settle land claims in and around Mashpee.

The deal took months to work out and was completed during a tight deadline imposed by the state Expanded Gaming Act. The new state law gave Patrick and the tribe only until July 31 to reach a deal or the Massachusetts Gaming Commission could put the Southeastern Massachusetts casino license out to bid.

In a separate deal, the tribe has agreed to pay the city of Taunton as much as $13 million per year for agreeing to host the casino. The tribe will pour another $33 million into the city in infrastructure improvements as part of that deal.

The state is facing a federal lawsuit over its decision to give the tribe a window of opportunity to cut a deal and get its federal approvals. KG Urban Enterprises, which hopes to build a casino on the New Bedford waterfront, is suing Patrick and the gaming commission, calling that provision of the legislation a “race-based set aside.”

In recent weeks, a campaign was launched by opponents of the Taunton casino with an online petition that sought to pressure the BIA into rejecting the compact.

Patrick filed the compact with the BIA on Aug. 30, which started the clock ticking on the review by the federal government. The gaming commission has the authority at any time to put the Southeastern Massachusetts license out to competitive bid if it feels as though the tribe can't get the federal approvals necessary to move forward with its plans.

The Mashpee tribe is backed by Arkana Ltd., a company owned by the same family that owns the Malaysian casino giant Genting Group, which bankrolled Foxwoods in Connecticut.

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121012/NEWS11/121019917/-1/NEWS

Foxwoods' Malaysian backers compete with themselves

Foxwoods' Malaysian backers compete with themselves
By David CollinsPublication: The Day

Published 09/26/2012

 

Standing inside the cavernous slot machine hall of the new Resorts World Casino at the Aqueduct race track in Queens, N.Y., I thought I could easily have been inside either one of Connecticut's casinos.

You don't have to be someone who doesn't care much for casino culture to note that they are all pretty much alike.

The colors might be a little different, and the carpet is newer and fresher in Queens, but I didn't notice much to distinguish it from Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun.

It's true the Connecticut casinos are built out as resorts, with hotel rooms, full restaurants, theaters, golf and even swimming. They are also real casinos, with table games, while Resorts World still only has electronic table games, with fake dealers on television screens.

But this summer, the New York casino trucked right by both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in its monthly slot machine win. It's on the New York subway system, less than a half hour from midtown Manhattan. Never mind that two-lane stretch of Route 2, or taking a ferry from Orient Point, Long Island, to New London, to board a bus.

Resorts World is already hosting hundreds of thousands of visitors every month.

I paid a visit to the New York City casino in part because it is the beginning of the giant new wave of competition that is about to wash over the Connecticut casinos.

I was also curious since the developers of the clever racino at Aqueduct are none other than the Malaysian investors who bankrolled the Foxwoods startup.

Indeed, the Malaysian family that put up the initial $58 million to build Foxwoods is still collecting on that bet, at terms that would make a New York loan shark blush. They will continue to collect 9.9 percent of gross Foxwoods revenue each year, a lot of money, through 2016.

By 2016, of course, the Malaysian lion may really be roaring in New York.

The Malaysians have proposed building a $4 billion convention center at Aqueduct and likely will compete for one of the New York casino licenses expected to be created when the state finishes amending its constitution.

It is interesting to see how much the development of Resorts World has unfolded in a way so similar to Foxwoods. The New York casino is even run by a former Foxwoods president, Michael Speller, clearly the Malaysians' U.S. gambling guy on the ground.

Genting, the Malaysian conglomerate that lent the Mashantucket Pequots money to open Foxwoods, has also pulled a lot of the same political levers in New York that the tribe did here.
The Mashantuckets became one of the biggest political donors in the country at the time Foxwoods began growing. Genting is now giving liberally to New York politicians, including $2.4 million to a lobbying group that supports New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The growth pattern is the same, too.

The development of the big slot hall with more than 4,000 machines was fast tracked as soon as approval was in hand. There is also a food court, an all-you-can-eat buffet and a giant bar.

An overhead heated corridor that will connect the casino with the A train subway station is under construction. Until then, you can take a quick shuttle bus ride from the subway to the casino's front door.

The next phase of development is slated to occur on the giant parking lots that surround the racetrack and connect with the big highway system around New York City.

The one thing that Resorts World has that the Connecticut casinos don't is a working racetrack. A few windows at the side of the gaming floor (Foxwoods was once known as the first casino with windows) look out at the big track.

The transition from the racetrack, where players, mostly older men, line up across the linoleum floor to place bets at cashier cage windows, is stark, when you walk into the casino area, with its plush carpeting and blinking slot machines with jackpot bells ringing and overhead lights changing color.

It won't be long, I suppose, before the casino at Resorts World completely consumes the old Aqueduct racetrack.

Let's hope Foxwoods doesn't seem like a quaint memory then, too.

This is the opinion of David Collins.

http://www.theday.com/article/20120926/NWS05/309269955/-1/nws

Genting Buys Florida Support

[Genting is the financial supporter of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts.]

Gambling giant spends more than $900,000 on pro-casino PAC

September 21, 2012|By Kathleen Haughney, Tallahassee Bureau

 

TALLAHASSEE –

— Malaysian-based gambling giant Genting has pumped $936,500 since April into a political action committee designed to sell the concept of Las Vegas-style casinos to voters in the Sunshine State, documents made public Friday show. But the casino company is still coy about its exact aims in Florida.

 

"We're still in a wait-and-see and we'll see what happens [mode]," said Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the Genting-backed PAC, New Jobs and Revenue for Florida.

More than a year ago, Genting swept into South Florida, spending $236 million to buy the bayfront home of the Miami Herald. It also took over the mortgage for the neighboring Omni – details of that deal were not disclosed – and set to work trying to persuade state lawmakers they should allow gambling companies like Genting, Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts into the Florida market.
Deluxe hotel casinos, the companies argued, would bring far more to the state in terms of tourism, jobs and tax revenue than exisiting pari-mutuels and the casinos belonging to the Seminole and Miccosukee Indian tribes.

But lawmakers balked. Genting then began looking at how to take the issue over their heads and directly to voters, ultimately forming a political action committee in April that is designed to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot so ordinary Floridians could decide whether destination casinos are appropriate or not. The Florida Legislature wouldn't have any say.

Hughes, in an interview on Friday ,said Genting is still trying to figure out if taking the matter to the voters is the best way forward for the company. Meanwhile, via the PAC, the company has paid out thousands to pollsters, media consultants and attorneys to do research and preparatory work to see if placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot would stand a good chance of success.
Of the $936,500 put into the committee as of Sept. 10, $860,435.75 has been spent, the documents filed with the state show. Genting is the sole contributor to the commitee through its Miami and New York offices.

Since April, the PAC has shelled out more than $390,000 to Fabrizio, McLaughlin and Associates, an Alexandria, Va.- based media and campaign consulting group with expertise in polling — and with ties to Florida Gov. Rick Scott. It's also paid Hughes, a former spokesman for Scott and the state Republican Party, $11,250 for media advice, as well as $350,000 to Fort Lauderdale attorney Bruce Rogow, a high-profile appellate lawyer who has argued numerous cases before the state Supreme Court. That court would have to approve the language of any referendum question placed on a statewide ballot.

Hughes wouldn't comment specifically on what Genting has been doing and whether they've taken polls to gauge public opinion on allowing destination casinos in Florida.

Running a campaign to amend Florida'a constitution is a monumental undertaking. To succeed, the committee would have to gather the signatures of more than 600,000 voters, win Supreme Court approval of ballot language – and spend multiple millions on a statewide advertising blitz to secure the approval of at least 60% of the voters casting ballots.

Several previous referendum campaigns intended to expand gambling have failed – though Floridians haven't voted on the issue since 1994.

Genting isn't ruling out trying again to win over the Florida Legislature, though. Other casino companies, which have not signed on to Genting's potential referendum strategy, are also talking to legislative leaders in hopes of bringing the issue up again at the 2013 legislative session.
"We're continuing to pitch the benefits of destination resorts," said Nick Iarossi, a lobbyist for Las Vegas Sands, which is owned by mega Republican financial backer Sheldon Adelson.

Earlier this summer, state Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, who will be president of the Florida Senate for the next two years, told the Sun Sentinel that he believed that the next session of the Legislature will take a comprehensive look at gambling and determine where it wants the state to go in terms of its compact with the Seminole Tribe, Internet cafes, pari-mutuels and the plans for destination casinos.

Opponents of gambling are already preparing their arguments in opposition.

The political action committee No Casinos Inc., along with Walt Disney World and the Florida Chamber of Commerce, have held news conferences and released TV and Internet ads over the past year arguing against allowing destination resorts, which they claim would bring more crime to South Florida and not generate the type of jobs the state wanted.

A cadre of top lobbyists have also been engaged by the well-heeled foes of gambling to argue against destination casinos.

John Sowinski, president of No Casinos Inc., said that his group is "waiting with interest" to see if the Genting-funded PAC goes through with a push for a constitutional amendment. He said he was uncertain that Genting could pitch the idea of the casino resorts so convincingly that Florida voters would conclude they need them.

"I don't think that they can come up with the ballot language or an idea to stand the test of time," he said.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-09-21/news/fl-genting-raises-big-money-20120921_1_destination-casinos-ballot-language-las-vegas-sands

Genting: One to watch

One to watch because of Massachusetts connections --

Genting power assets sale a ludicrous deal

Harold Angus Sep 3, 2012

We all know that the independent power producer IPP deals are not favourable to Malaysians and especially to Tenaga Nasional Bhd, the national electricity company.

It seems the editor of Business Times was having an off day when they labelled the Genting power assets sale a 'sensible deal' (Business Times Aug 14, ‘Genting power assets sale a sensible deal')

This deal makes no sense from a logical or business perspective. After having consumers pay for the secret IPP deals, we now have to swallow this.

The most logical price to pay for this plant is book value, and only after a thorough plant survey, and maybe a little extra for some goodwill.

Within three years, this plant will be almost worthless in Malaysia unless they can negotiate a new IPP deal.

Is this one way of forever keeping the agreements a secret? Or could it be the testing of the mechanism to buy out all the other IPPs at ludicrous prices too?

So how is 1MDB going to manage this plant? I suppose they could create another Syabas-type model and pay the CEO something like RM400,000 a month?

Most likely there will be the usual upgrading and refurbishments resulting in another RM500 million in more dubious deals. The only economic transformation progression (ETP) for Malaysia in this deal is Malaysia going from indebtedness to Greek-like bankruptcy.

The headline is hilarious but misleading. This is not a sensible deal for Malaysians but it is certainly one sweetheart deal for Genting!

 

http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/207813

Genting Singapore’s 2Q net profit falls 32%

Genting Singapore’s 2Q net profit falls 32% to $139m

Written by The Edge

Friday, 10 August 2012 Genting Singapore PLC said it posted a 43% fall in second quarter net profit for the three months ended June to $138.5 million from a year ago. Revenue for the quarter edged 3% lower to $702.21 million, affected by the marginally lower casino business volume compared to second quarter of 2011. Resorts World Sentosa contributed revenue of $696.3 million. “The hotel business remains robust, registering an occupancy rate of 92%,” it added. With the opening of Equarius Hotel and Beach Villas in the beginning of this year, Genting said its overall room inventory increased by 8%. http://www.theedgesingapore.com/the-daily-edge/business/39105-genting-singapores-2q-net-falls-32.html

Sunday, 12 August 2012 07:20

Gov’t told to explain casino firm's involvement in Felda Global listing

Written by

The BN federal government has been told to explain a report claiming casino operator Genting Berhad being allocated 407,005,000 or 12 percent shares in Felda Global Venture Holding before selling them to government-linked agencies.

Citing a Bloomberg Peers report, chairman of FELDA whistleblower group National Felda Settlers’ Children Association (ANAK) Mazlan Aliman said Tabung Haji, Employees Provident Fund (FGVH) and Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pencen (KWAP) had taken up the FGVH shares owned by Genting between July 16 to August 9.

“Why Genting sold off its shares? Is it proxy to some leaders? Why public funds were used to purchase the disposed shares?” asked Mazlan.

Mazlan earlier exposed that Louis Dreyfus and Bonge Limited, both companied linked to Jews, had been involved in FGVH.

Earlier, it was reported that KWAP had bought a whopping 64.11 million shares in FGVH on its initial public offering (IPO) debut on June 28, amounting to about 24.5 percent of the day’s total trading volume of 262 million shares.

Based on the lowest trading price of RM5.24 for the day, the transaction would have amounted up to RM335.94 million.

With the fall in price of global palm oil, speculation is rife that public funds through public institutions were used to sustain FGVH’s share price ahead of the 13th general election.

FGVH’s share price has been on a decline since the listing, dipping to RM4.99 last week before slight recovery to close at RM5.12 yesterday after reaching a peak of RM5.50.

-Harakahdaily

http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=38024:gov%E2%80%99t-told-to-explain-casino-firms-involvement-in-fgvh-listing&Itemid=2

While Genting circles and salivates to invade Florida and New York State, its noteworthy that Genting is the current financial Sugar Daddy of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

And Massachusetts poorly written legislation allowed Genting into the Commonwealth with no scrutiny.


Genting Connected to Islamic Extremists?

Posted on Friday, 08.03.12

For Genting, no doesn’t mean no

Fabiola Santiago The Miami Herald

By Fabiola Santiago

fsantiago@MiamiHerald.com

They’re baaaack.
Like a poltergeist, Genting, the Malaysian casino operators, won’t rest until they win approval to set up a mega-gambling establishment on the prime Miami waterfront land they purchased for $236 million in cash in 2011.

Nothing seems to discourage them. Not the ‘no, thank yous’ from local leaders. Not the disapproval from the Legislature at the end of its session.

And not an application filed by preservationists to designate as historic the Miami Modern building in the midst of Genting’s plans to erect a hotel and casino complex at their One Herald Plaza property and across the street at the Omni.

Now, the company aspires to nothing less than to change our state constitution. It has already put more than a half-million dollars into a petition drive to bypass the Legislature and put a pro-casino amendment on the ballot in 2014.

Get ready for the replay of the pro-casino gambling onslaught we’ve endured during the last year, when Genting threw millions of dollars at every strategy — lobbyists, campaign contributions, forums slanted to pro-gambling views — that could possibly help them get their mega casino empire built.

Already, they’ve spent $1.3 million this election season, according to a Miami Herald/Tampa Times analysis of campaign reports.

To the Republican Party of Florida, they’ve made donations totaling $486,000, as conventional wisdom tells them it’s the conservatives who oppose gambling. (Not so; on this issue the people who have a different vision for Miami are a bipartisan coalition). And they’ve given $111,000 to the Florida Democratic Party, where the support for Genting comes from the misguided belief that it will be a source of jobs for the people who need them most.

But enough of us see past the promises and the glitz of an architectural rendering that, even without the gambling, would radically change the arts district so many patrons of the arts have struggled to build over the decades.

If they were going to be good neighbors, they wouldn’t be seeking to change our constitution and buy our politicians.

They would be working with their architects and negotiating in good faith with the preservationists to build a classy resort worthy of its top location across the street from the region’s state-of-the-art performing arts center and next to the city’s top museums.

But for Genting, it’s not enough to offer a world-class hotel and restaurant complex a stone’s throw from the Port of Miami and a hop across two causeways to world-famous South Beach.

It’s about the cash generated by gambling — risky to the players and to the cultural destination Miami has become, but a win-win for the conglomerate across the globe.

Otherwise the gaming giant wouldn’t be fighting so hard and spending so much to ram casino gambling resorts down our throats.

Here’s a better idea, free of charge: Flip the property.

It’s not the right neighborhood. Genting bought low in hard times, but with real estate bouncing back, they can make a decent penny on the investment.
 And we’ll be rid of the poltergeist.  

   http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/03/2930664/for-genting-no-doesnt-mean-no.html

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/03/2930664/for-genting-no-doesnt-mean-no.html#storylink=cpy

Stupidity or Corruption?

Massachusetts taxpayers haven't figured out that the 'infrastructure improvements' required for a

Genting/Mashpee Wampanoag/Taunton Monster will take on the proportions of the Big Dig!

 

 

 

But Rally Round, Folks!

Governor Slot Barns spent your tax dollars hiring a DC lobbyist to support a wealthy Malaysian

investor, Genting, hoping to suck discretionary dollars from the regional Taunton economy.

The 'Tribe' pretended a fairy tale --

Massachusetts: The Corrupt Hoax

even though the 'federal application' was submitted June 4th, before the June 9th vote, INCOMPLETE --

TO BE SUBMITTED

TO BE SUBMITTED

TO BE SUBMITTED

This is not a joke! Well....maybe it is! Posted here:

http://nemasket.net/LIT

Governor Slot Barns hired a lobbyist for a Malaysian investor, Genting. [This isn't about a Tribe. This is about wealthy investors.]

 Massachusetts: Does anyone believe this is appropriate?

From Professor Kindt:

...the city of Chicago is the most corrupt area in the U.S.

Disturbed by the spreading political corruption accompanying legalized gambling, U.S. Sen. Paul Simon sponsored the bipartisan U.S. National Gambling Impact Study Commission. The panel’s final report called for a moratorium on the expansion of any type of gambling anywhere in the country, and the commission included recommendations for stringent curbs on campaign contributions, the recriminalization of slots/electronic gambling machines convenient to the public, and continued prohibitions on creating racetrack casinos.

The state of Virginia rejected casinos during the same time frame that Illinois authorized its first 10 casinos. Virginia now has a surplus, while the Illinois budget is the nation’s worst.

From: No to more gambling giveaways

Much like Massachusetts, Maryland believed the phony projections -

Blindly Accepting Overstated Projections

Good news for Palmer [Dumb location!]:

Picknelly plans to divest from proposed Palmer casino

Is it simply stupidity or corruption? When is it time to change this? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.mass.gov/eea/air-water-climate-change/preserving-water-resources/mass-watersheds/taunton-river-watershed.html

 

 

Taunton River Watershed 

The Taunton River Watershed is the second largest watershed in the state at 562 square miles and contains 94 square miles of wetlands and 221 lakes or ponds. 700,000 people call the watershed home.