Just two months after they extended the deadline for casino applicants in Southeastern Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is considering opening the region to new bidders and extending the deadline again, possibly until mid-March.
At a meeting Thursday, the commission put off making a decision for two weeks on the area known as Region C, to solicit public comment and guidance from the agency's legal advisers.
The deadline for Phase 2 applications in Region C was originally July 23, which would have required referendum votes by mid-May in cities where the casinos are proposed. In April, the deadline was extended to Sept. 23. That meant commercial applicants currently seeking the Region C license — KG Urban Enterprises and Foxwoods — would need a host community agreement in place by July 14 and then would have until the September date to file the completed Phase 2 application.
Now the Gaming Commission is considering pushing that September deadline forward, possibly another six months, in an attempt to keep potential investors interested in Southeastern Massachusetts.
KG Urban, which is proposing a New Bedford waterfront casino and was at one time the lone bidder in the region, was quick to reject the idea of opening up the application process to new companies.
"KG Urban strongly opposes opening the Southeast Region C to applicants that made no commitment to the region, or the commonwealth, prior to commission's deadline last September. We will submit detailed comments to the Gaming Commission," said Andy Paven, a spokesman for the company seeking a New Bedford waterfront casino.
Foxwoods, which wants to build in Fall River, did not return a call seeking comment.
The commission is poised to officially award the state's first full-fledged casino license today to MGM Resorts for an $800 million project in Springfield. MGM will be allowed to delay paying the $85 million license fee because of the effort underway to repeal the state's casino law through a possible referendum on the November ballot.
Extending the Region C deadline to March would allow the loser in the Greater Boston license sweepstakes — Wynn Resorts or Mohegan Sun — to enter the Southeastern Massachusetts market, commission
Chairman Stephen Crosby said.
But Crosby said he doesn't think extending the deadline will make much difference in attracting Region C bidders.
"I don't think that's what the problem here is," he said.
The problems are well-documented. The looming presence of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, which has proposed a $500 million Indian casino in Taunton, is one of them.
Though the tribe does not yet have federal approval and its application remains in legal limbo with the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, it does have a compact with the state to make payments in lieu of taxes at a rate of 17 percent of gross gambling revenue, so long as there is no direct competition from a commercial casino in the region. If there is a state-licensed competitor, the tribe's payments would drop to zero and the commercial company would be at a competitive disadvantage.
Paula Gates, a spokeswoman for the tribe, said the Mashpee land application remains under review by the bureau.
"The tribe is encouraged at the pace things are moving along," Gates said.
Even without the possible tribal casino, Region C is a highly competitive market. The state's lone slot parlor would be just over the border into Region B in Plainville, there are two gambling facilities in nearby Rhode Island, and there are two Indian casinos in Connecticut.
For most of the year, KG Urban was the lone bidder in Region C. Once Foxwoods lost a referendum vote to build a casino in Milford, the Connecticut casino operator turned its attention to Fall River and New Bedford with the blessing of the Gaming Commission.
Kenneth Fiola, executive vice president of Fall River's Office of Economic Development, said his city would welcome a deadline extension, in part, because the state's Supreme Judicial Court has not yet decided whether a referendum question to repeal the casino law can go on the November ballot.
"The real 800-pound gorilla in the room is the uncertainty of what's going to happen with SJC," Fiola said referring to the potential ballot question.
Companies are reluctant to spend the money on marketing campaigns to win local support at the ballot box because of the uncertainty, he said. The popular vote has to be held 60 to 90 days after a host community agreement is approved by the City Council, he said.
"We have no choice but to support a deadline extension," Fiola said.
A spokesman for New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell issued a statement saying that city also supports the extension of the deadline until after a potential November referendum.
"As acknowledged previously, the city has had productive discussions with casino interests and believes a November deadline would provide sufficient opportunity to bring forward any potential proposals," the statement said.
While Commissioner Enrique Zuniga of the gaming board suggested the commission could let the current deadlines play out and extend the deadline if only one of the two companies meets it, Crosby said that would be unfair to the company and city that rushed to get a deal done.
"I'm really uncomfortable with the idea of letting someone come in by the 14th and then extending the deadline," Crosby said.
Whatever the commission decides, it needs to strike a balance and not allow the southeastern part of the state to fall too far behind the other two regions, said John Ziemba, the commission's ombudsman.
"Region C falling behind is not the problem," Crosby said. "It's Region C falling off the map completely."
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