Lobbyists battle it out over casino plan

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Lobbyists battle it out over casino plan

By Tanner Stening
Posted Oct 19, 2018

MASHPEE — As a new chapter begins in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s legal fight for its land, a high stakes lobbying campaign in the nation’s capital is pitting powerful gambling interests against a foreign casino developer with the fate of the tribe’s 321-acre reservation hanging in the balance.

In a year marked mostly by setbacks for the tribe, notable attorneys and lobbyists — some working at cross-purposes —are converging on the halls of Congress in a struggle to win over lawmakers who may soon consider legislation that, if passed, would declare the tribe’s reservation lawful, reversing findings by the U.S. Department of the Interior and a federal court judge.

A bill sponsored by U.S. Rep William Keating, D-Mass., would do just that: settle the multiyear and so far successful legal challenge brought by neighbors of the tribe’s proposal to build a resort-casino in Taunton, effectively greenlighting the project and ending any question about the legality of the tribe’s trust lands.

The legislation is a pivotal piece in the tribe’s fight to protect its sovereignty. Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Chairman Cedric Cromwell has urged support for the bill, emphasizing the grave and unprecedented threat facing the tribe, which spent decades pursuing federal recognition and trust status with the government.

“I’m asking people of goodwill and those concerned with justice for the indigenous people of this — the first Americans — to stand with us in calling on Congress to protect our reservation and ensure we don’t become the first tribe since the dark days of the Termination Era to lose its land,” Cromwell said in a statement after the Sept. 7 decision from the Interior, which said the tribe wasn’t under federal jurisdiction in 1934, the year the Indian Reorganization Act became law.

But in a deeply polarized political climate, getting the bill passed would require congressional Republicans to support the wishes of the all-Democrat Massachusetts delegation, and given the potential for an Elizabeth Warren presidential bid in 2020, its chances may be significantly affected. Warren is a co-sponsor of the Senate version of the tribal bill.

In addition, the Rhode Island congressional delegation has quietly come out in opposition to the bill to protect its gambling revenues. The tribe’s proposed casino, which is slated for fertile Region C ground, is not far from Rhode Island’s eastern border.

Lobbyists and their causes

Genting Malaysia, which is financially backing the tribe’s legal fight to secure its reservation and the casino project, has spent more than $1 million on various lobbying firms in 2018, three times more than it did in 2017, according to federal lobbying disclosures. The overseas developer was the third biggest spender on tourism/lodging lobbying in the U.S. this past year, according to the website Open Secrets.

The tribe’s overall debt to Genting, which also finances parts of tribal government operations, is roughly $426.3 million, according to a recent filing by the Malaysian casino developer. Genting said it is deliberating with the tribe to “review all options” concerning the recoverability of its investment, according to the filing.

Genting paid the law firm Dentons US more than $1 million to lobby on “casino development and land related issues” this year, according to filings. Dentons is the world’s largest firm by number of lawyers, according to its website.

Dentons, on behalf of Genting, in turn has spent between $130,000 and $150,000 on “Interior Department land decisions” through Gavel Resources LLC, according to filings.

Gavel’s lobbyists include, among others, Richard Pombo, a former member of the House of Representatives from California who was among the highest-paid beneficiaries of tribal lobbying and illegal campaign contributions when the tribe was seeking federal recognition in the 2000s.

That period of the tribe’s history was tainted by the legacy of its former chairman Glenn Marshall, who in 2009 was sentenced to 3½ years in federal prison for embezzling nearly $400,000 from the tribe to pay his own bills, making illegal campaign contributions, filing false tax returns and fraudulently receiving Social Security benefits while holding a full-time job. Pombo was unseated in November 2006 amid questions about his ties to Jack Abramoff, a notorious lobbyist who spent several years behind bars in connection with a wide-reaching federal corruption probe.

Pombo did not return a message requesting comment for this story.

‘Trump’s Washington’

In addition to the tribe’s more long-term lobbyists, including Delahunt Group LLC —which helps to, among other things, secure grants — and Akerman LLP, Genting recently contracted with Ballard Partners, touted as one of Washington’s most influential lobbying firms. 

The firm is run by Brian Ballard, who was President Trump’s Florida finance chairman for his 2016 campaign. Ballard, dubbed “the most powerful lobbyist in Trump’s Washington” by Politico, has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican causes over the past two years, according to data from the Federal Election Commission’s website. Genting spent $90,000 on Ballard’s firm so far this year.

Given a perceived hostility on the part of the Trump administration toward prevailing Indian land policies — which many scholars and observers outside and within Indian Country have noted — Ballard may seem like an odd pick to represent the tribe’s interests, if Ballard’s work is, in fact, tied to the legislation.

“In some way Ballard Partners would be working at cross-purposes here,” said Ronald Shaiko, senior fellow and associate director of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy at Dartmouth College. “At base, lobbyists should be pretty pragmatic (in) how they do business. Firms are getting bigger, buying other firms, so they can lobby both sides.”

Competing gambling interests arrayed against the tribe appear to stem from one commanding source, according to filings: Chicago-based casino magnate and billionaire Neil Bluhm, who is backing a proposed casino in Brockton through Mass Gaming & Entertainment, whose casino proposal was denied by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in 2016.

But Mass Gaming is asking for reconsideration of its proposal, and its principal owner, Rush Street Gaming, has thrown hundreds of thousands of dollars behind an effort to influence lawmakers and regulators at the state and federal levels, according to filings — a large portion of which appears to be directed at thwarting the tribe’s casino effort, the pending legislation and garnering local support for the revival of Mass Gaming’s proposal.

It’s unclear precisely how much money, based on lobbying disclosures alone, is working against the tribe.

“This is not just about the Keating legislation,” said Joe Baerlein, a spokesman for Mass Gaming. “There are a whole host of other gaming-related issues that we’re dealing with.”

Rush Street also has casinos in New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Baerlein said.

At the state level, Mass Gaming has spent $210,000 on lobbying so far this year with respect to “issues related to expanded gaming,” according to state filings. Baerlein said that is tied to “outreach” across nine different communities, including boards of selectmen and town administrators.

Leadership in Taunton and Brockton have come down on opposite sides of the issue, with Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr. reaffirming support for the tribal proposal over the summer. Around the same, Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter wrote to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, decrying the department’s “prolonged delay” in issuing a decision with respect to the tribal proposal, which has stymied prospects for development on the parcel of land where Mass Gaming wants to build.

Baerlein said the spending by Genting “dwarfs” the spending against the tribe, adding that the Massachusetts congressional delegation ought to “take a hard look” at the role the foreign company has played in influencing land decisions at the federal level.

More than casinos

Tribal representatives see it quite differently. Heather Sibbison, legal counsel for the tribe and a registered lobbyist for Dentons, said a tribe’s right to hold land has “profound historical and cultural meaning.”

“But for almost everyone else on the other side who is working to disestablish the tribe’s reservation, this is just a big, huge fight over casino market share,” she said. “If it loses its reservation, it loses its school, its ability to provide basic social services; it loses its fundamental right to have land on which it can engage in true self government.”

This year, Rush Street Gaming, formerly Rivers Casino, a gambling parlor owned by Bluhm, has spent $160,000 in lobbying fees through American Continental Group, citing “general gaming issues,” according to filings.

Manus Cooney and David Urban are listed as American Continental lobbyists working on behalf of Rush Street Gaming. Cooney is former chief counsel and staff director of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and Urban is cited as a “prominent Republican lobbyist” who joined the Trump campaign in its early days as an adviser in the Pennsylvania and Indiana primaries, according to the firm’s website.

But the firms cited as lobbying directly against the legislation include Locke Lord Public Policy Group LLC and Freemyer & Associates P.C.

Twin River Management Group — which owns casinos in Rhode Island — has spent $60,000 on Locke Lord specifically on the issue of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act, according to filings, and Rush Street Gaming paid Freemyer & Associates P.C. $40,000 so far this year.

Lobbying the lawmakers

In addition, Locke Lord gave $7,500 to U.S. Rep. Robert Bishop, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which is responsible for taking up the legislation, over the past year, according to contribution filings. Bishop was among Locke Lord’s top three highest-paid recipients over the past election cycle.

The firm has also supported Democrats, giving money to U.S. Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island and Keating. Cicilline’s political committee received $1,000 from Locke Lord earlier this year, and Keating’s political committee reported two $1,000 contributions from them — one on March 16 and another on March 19 — just days after he introduced the legislation.

Tribal lobbyists, with Dentons at the helm, have also targeted members of the House committee, most notably U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., who chairs the subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs. Dentons gave LaMalfa’s political committee $9,000 just days before Keating introduced the tribe bill.

Altogether, Dentons’ political action committee has given about $40,000 to lawmakers sponsoring the legislation throughout the 2017-2018 campaign cycle, filings show.

Incumbents typically receive more than challengers, and “well over half of their money comes from organized interests” instead of individual contributions, Shaiko said.

Shaiko said it’s typically wise for lobbying firms to give money to political candidates on both sides of the aisle; that way, if a congressional chamber flips, they can stay in business.

“It’s less ideological than it used to be,” he said.

Interior Department and Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe lobbying for 2018

For the tribe:

Genting paid Dentons US $1.1 million to lobby lawmakers and the Interior Department on “casino development and land related issues”

Dentons, on behalf of Genting, paid Gavel Resources LLC $240,000 to lobby lawmakers and the Interior Department on “Interior Department land decisions”

Genting paid Ballard Partners $90,000 to lobby the Interior Department on “gaming rules and regulations”

The tribe paid $60,000 to Delahunt Group LLC

The tribe paid $10,000 to Akerman LLP

Against the tribe:

Twin River Management Group paid Locke Lord Public Policy Group LLC $60,000 to lobby congress on “Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act”

Rush Street Gaming, parent company of Mass Gaming and Entertainment, paid CSA Strategies LLC $50,000 to lobby lawmakers and the Interior Department on “issues related to casino development” and “issues related to licensing of Internet gaming/poker”

Rush Street Gaming paid American Continental Group $160,000 to lobby lawmakers and the Interior Department on “general gaming issues impacting Rivers Casino”

Rush Street Gaming paid Freemyer & Associates P.C. $40,000 to lobby lawmakers  and the Interior Department on “H.R. 5244 (the tribal bill)”

https://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20181019/lobbyists-battle-it-out-over-casino-plan

The day after this article below was published, the site was hacked. 
When the site reappeared, the article was missing. 
Not only was the article retained in its entirety, copies were distributed. 

No one ever asked for details. 

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It is doubtful the TRIBE will live long enough to benefit. 
No one is asking. 


FROM MASSTERLIST:

Fed letter rekindles tribe’s Taunton casino hopes

Just when it looked like the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe was down to its last few chips in its bid to win the right to open a casino in Taunton, a letter from the U.S. Department of the Interior has brought renewed hope for a jackpot. Charles Winokoor of the Taunton Gazette reports the feds still want a chance to review the tribe’s request to use an alternative avenue to have land in Taunton and Mashpee placed into reservation.  Taunton Gazette

Interior Department wants one more go at Mashpee Wampanoag land ruling

By Charles Winokoor 
Taunton Gazette Staff Reporter
Posted Jul 2, 2017

TAUNTON — The key counsel for two dozen plaintiffs who have managed to block construction of a resort casino in East Taunton says an email sent Friday by the U.S. Department of Interior does little more than delay the inevitable.

“It’s their only chance, and it will be denied,” said Nixon Peabody attorney David Tenant, referring to the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and its ongoing attempt to secure a favorable Interior Department ruling to retain 151 acres in Taunton and 170 acres in Mashpee as tribal, sovereign land.

Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye Jr., a staunch supporter of the tribal casino — which potentially would create thousands of construction jobs and 2,600 permanent jobs — said the email from Interior Department associate deputy secretary James Cason is to some extent encouraging.

“It appears the DOI wants to see them (the tribe) succeed in their quest,” Hoye said. “They haven’t said no, which leads me to believe there is hope.”

Taunton stands to collect at least $8 million annually in lieu of property taxes once First Light Resort & Casino opens.

The email came three days after the tribe asked the Interior Department “to suspend its remand proceedings,” according to Cason.

Work on the Stevens Street casino project — which the tribe has described as a $1 billion investment by Malaysia-based Genting Group — ground to a halt in 2016, after a U.S. District judge in Boston sided with plaintiffs, when he ruled that the Interior Department’s 2015 decision placing the Taunton and Mashpee land “in trust” had been faulty.

Judge William G. Young did not order that the 321 acres be taken out of trust, but he remanded the case back to the Interior Department for final reconsideration.

Young, who said his decision was “not a close call,” concluded that to qualify for land in trust, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe — which wasn’t recognized as an Indian tribe by the federal government until 2007 — would, by federal statute, need to have been under “federal jurisdiction” in 1934 when the Indian Reorganization Act was enacted.

A press release issued Friday night on behalf of tribal chairman Cedric Cromwell said he is “grateful” that the Interior Department “has provided a pathway forward in securing our reservation lands.”

Cromwell, in the Regan Communications statement, also notes that ”(b)ecause the DOI has not concluded its process, no decision is appropriate at this time, and none has been issued.”

That statement contradicts a communication from Cason, who, in a June 19 draft emailed to Cromwell, indicated he had reached a decision not favorable to the tribe.

Cason wrote that “evidence submitted by the Tribe on remand provides insufficient indicia (indications) of federal jurisdiction,” and “does not show that the Tribe was under federal jurisdiction in 1934.”

“I must also conclude that the Tribe cannot meet the Indian Reorganization Act’s first definition of ‘Indian,’ or its second definition as interpreted by the Massachusetts U.S. District Court in the Littlefield litigation,” referring to lead plaintiff Michelle Littlefield.

“I therefore cannot grant the Tribe’s land-into-trust application under either of those definitions,” Cason wrote.

His land-in-trust decision, Cason said, was to have been issued “at the tribe’s urging” on or before June 19.

But “because of continuing concerns” regarding his department’s “analysis,” Cason notified the parties that issuance of a final decision would be delayed until June 27, which fell one day after Cromwell asked the DOI to suspend its remand proceedings.

Cason’s email indicates he’s had second thoughts about the decision he was prepared to release first on June 19 and then on June 27.

In addition to denying a request by the tribe to suspend his review, Cason says he’s also withdrawn his prior decision for failing to devote “full consideration of complex issues” related to “the unique, historical relationship” between Massachusetts, the Mashpee Wampanoag and the federal government.

Cason is now asking both sides to submit supplemental material so he can render a decision in consideration of a 1975 First Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.

In that Passamaquoddy Tribe v. Morton case, Cason said, the court found that before admission in 1820 to the Union as a state, Maine comprised a district within Massachusetts — which by extension exercised authority over Indian affairs in what was to become the state of Maine.

“This fact raises a potentially important issue for the remand analysis that neither the Tribe nor the Littlefield plaintiffs explored,” Cason said.

Cason said he needs to consider whether the exercise of authority over the tribe by the commonwealth “could be considered a surrogate for federal jurisdiction” in context of the Indian Reorganization Act’s definition of “Indian.”

Both parties, he said, have until Aug. 31 to submit material in anticipation of a decision to be rendered no later than Oct. 30.

“The Mashpee and Taunton parcels remain in trust status, unless a court orders otherwise,” Cason said, while the Interior Department completes its review, to decide if the tribe was under federal jurisdiction in 1934 and is eligible for having land taken into trust.

Tennant called Cason’s request “a novel, unprecedented and absurd motion.”

“It’s a complete non-starter and a specious argument,” he said, adding that the parties cited the case for purposes other than arguing the case at hand.

Tenant says he expects any such decision will go against the tribe, which at that point he predicts will give up the fight.

And if the Interior Department rules that the Mashpee Wampanoag was under federal jurisdiction in 1934, Tenant says the plaintiffs will quickly appeal the decision.

“The courts will not hesitate to reverse such an absurd thing,” he said.

Tenant acknowledges that chairman Neil Bluhm of Rush Street Gaming, the Chicago company that tried unsuccessfully to establish a commercial casino in Brockton, has contributed to paying for the services of Tennant and a co-counsel from Nixon Peabody’s Boston office.

The state of Massachusetts allows for three casinos, including one in southeastern Region C.

Tenant said he’s not surprised Bluhm is siding with his clients and provides financial assistance.

He points out that if the Mashpee Wampanoag loses land-in-trust status it would still be listed as fee title holder of the Taunton land, for which it paid nearly $35 million.

Tenant says it’s even conceivable the tribe someday would entertain commercial-casino, land-use offers including from Rush Street.

“Who knows what could happen to Region C,” he said.

http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/20170702/interior-department-wants-one-more-go-at-mashpee-wampanoag-land-ruling

Opponents of Taunton casino cast doubt on groundbreaking plans

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Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said that three firms – Dimeo Construction Company, The Penta Building Group, and Talako Construction – will begin pre-construction for Project First Light, with a possible groundbreaking date of April 5.“It could be a false bravado,” said Adam Bond, the Midd...

TAUNTON – Opponents of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s casino project in Taunton said that the financial backers of the gaming destination would proceed at their own risk if they go forward with a groundbreaking planned for early April.

After the Mashpee tribe announced its plans to break ground on a $500 million casino in Taunton, a lawyer for a group of citizens that filed a lawsuit to stop the project said on Tuesday that the construction project could be a waste of money.

“They do so at their own risk,” said Adam Bond, the Middleboro-based attorney who helped file the lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of the Interior decision to grant land in trust for the tribe in Taunton. “It doesn't change the lawsuit that is pending.”

On Tuesday, Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell published a statement that three firms – Dimeo Construction Company, The Penta Building Group, and Talako Construction – will begin pre-construction for Project First Light, with a possible groundbreaking date of April 5. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has long told the government and the public that it has the financial backing of the Malaysian multinational Genting Group.

Bond said that the tribe's announcement of an April groundbreaking could be an attempt to convince the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which is deciding on whether to award a commercial license for a Brockton casino project, that the Taunton project will not be stalled or halted by the federal lawsuit.

“It could be a false bravado,” Bond said. “It could be real. I don't know. I'm not focused on their tactical discussions. ... The gamble is theirs, or their financiers’. It's at their own risk.”

Bond said the tribe is scheduled to respond in federal court to the Taunton group’s lawsuit in early April, just before the scheduled groundbreaking.

The state commission previously stated that it is considering the “tribal status” of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, as it decides whether to award a license to Mass Gaming and Entertainment, the group behind the Brockton bid. That status is the crux of the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Taunton citizens group, pointing to the precedent set by the 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which stated that the benefits of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 are limited to tribes that were "now under federal jurisdiction" at the time of the law's passage.

The Mashpee tribe was not federally recognized until 2007, but members claim they have been under federal jurisdiction for many generations. The Taunton citizens group points to historic government documents to deny that claim.

The effect of lawsuit is a crucial consideration for the gaming commission, which is concerned about the potential for market oversaturation, with two potential casinos located close to each other. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission recently said that it now plans to make a decision on the Brockton casino in late April.

Neil Bluhm, chairman of the Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming, the parent company of Mass Gaming and Entertainment, has repeatedly stated during public meetings with the gaming commission that the Mashpee tribe may say it’s going to start construction, but that when it comes down to it, he doubts the tribe’s financiers will invest seriously in the Taunton casino project with a serious lawsuit looming overhead. Bluhm recently helped fund the Taunton group’s lawsuit, and the tribe has repeatedly stated that Bluhm’s claims are dubious.

“We are not questioning Genting’s resources,” said Bluhm, during a November hearing for the proposed Brockton casino. “The question is, would a sound businessman want to risk that kind of money in light of the potential reversal of this case? You might say, initially I will, but once you get down to it, would you really do it? But one thing I think is absolutely clear, a lender is not going to take this kind of risk. This would require 100 percent equity or a guarantee. And this is a binary decision. If courts hold you can’t have a casino (in Taunton), there will be no casino. And all of that money is going to be lost. So, that’s a pretty hefty decision for anyone to make in light of the legal analysis.”

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is scheduled to speak about the legal matter with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on March 15 during a public meeting at 1 p.m.

Look below to view a copy of the lawsuit filed by the Taunton citizens group against the U.S. Department of the Interior, over its decision to grant land in trust for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

http://www.enterprisenews.com/article/20160308/NEWS/160306113

Experts: Tribal casino 'death knell' for Brockton bid

By George Brennan
Cape Cod Times

Posted Sep. 22, 2015 at 6:45 PM
Updated Sep 22, 2015 at 9:50 PM 

The state’s own casino study done in 2008 cautioned a tribal casino in the same region with a commercial casino would be “disastrous.”

Two casino experts who have observed the Massachusetts gambling market before and after casinos were legalized say the Mashpee Wampanoag’s federal land decision should put an end to the potential licensing a commercial venture in Southeastern Massachusetts, known as Region C.

On Thursday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission will discuss a request by Mass. Gaming & Entertainment, which hopes to build a $650 million casino in Brockton, to issue a license regardless of the tribe’s status. The company is likely to argue the tribe faces a protracted legal fight, though no lawsuit has yet been filed and the tribe appears poised to move on with its Taunton casino plans while a court battle is waged.

That makes the commission's decision clear, experts say.

“It’s the death knell to the one in Brockton, period,” Richard McGowan, an associate professor at Boston College, said Tuesday.

“If you assume the tribe goes forward with its plans, it doesn’t make sense to issue a commercial license in Region C,” said Clyde Barrow, a casino expert with Nathan Associates Inc.

Rush Street Gaming, the company backing the Brockton proposal, has made it clear in statements it believes it can compete in the market and a study by Innovation Group reportedly shows the Brockton casino's market share would drop just 10 percent in head-to-head competition with the tribe.

“Innovation Group never factors in cannibalization,” Barrow said. In markets where a casino comes in to an existing market, the new facility takes 20 to 30 percent of the business, Barrow said. In Massachusetts, there would be three gambling facilities in a 25-mile radius if Brockton were to join the tribal casino and Plainridge Park, which is already open.

“There’s no scenario where that comes out better for the state,” he said.

In the case of the Mashpee Wampanoag proposal, it would be a devastating blow to the state’s coffers, he said. Under a tribal-state compact, the tribe would pay 17 percent of gross gambling revenues if there is no competition in the region. If there is competition, the tribe pays zero.

“There’s an inherent natural advantage for a tribal casino versus a commercial casino,” Barrow said. “That’s tens of millions of dollars per year, they can give to their customers in free slot play, free rooms, free food and free tickets for entertainment. They can make their facility more lavish and attractive. There’s a whole range of benefits.”

Ultimately, it may be difficult for any casino to contend with the $1.7 billion investment Steve Wynn has promised in Everett, McGowan said.

“I can’t imagine Brockton can compete with that,” he said.

Spectrum Gaming, a consultant for the commission which did a 2008 state study before casinos were licensed, warned that a tribal casino competing with a state-licensed casino “would have potentially disastrous effects” on revenue generated for the state.

“When tribal casinos do not fall under the same regulatory and tax guidelines as commercial casinos, they often have a distinct competitive advantage,” the Spectrum study stated.

Factoring in what’s being talked about in Rhode Island with a facility in Tiverton near the state line and a proposal by two Indian tribes in Connecticut to join forces on an East Hartford casino, McGowan said the threat of saturation is real.

http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20150922/NEWS/150928518/?Start=1

N.J. casino conference labels U.S. gambling market saturated

By Wayne Perry
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted May. 28, 2015


ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The casino market in the northeastern United States is saturated, yet that's not stopping some states from approving gambling legislation and companies from building new gambling halls.

That's the consensus of participants at a major casino conference in Atlantic City.

Eugene Johnson, of Spectrum Gaming Group, says by the end of this year, there will be 60 casinos in the northeast. That figure will grow to 65 by 2018, according to his colleague, Joe Weinert.

"There's not a politician in the land who is going to choose a tax increase when gaming looks so good on paper," said Wendy Hamilton, general manager of Philadelphia's SugarHouse casino, which is operated by Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming, the company behind the proposed project in Brockton, Massachusetts. "We have to avoid the siren song. There's not a zip code in the region that doesn't have four or five (gambling) options within an hour."

Asked if casino closings outside New Jersey are likely, she said nothing appears imminent, but "of course it's going to happen" if expansion continues at its current pace.

"Pennsylvania doesn't care what happens to New Jersey, and New York doesn't care what happens to Pennsylvania," she said. "It just can't go on forever. There's a finite amount of gaming revenue out there. We are in a very volatile time and we're in a frenzy of gaming expansion. It needs to stop."

Ed Sutor, president of Dover Downs casino in Delaware, said the entire mid-Atlantic region saw decreasing revenue in the first quarter of this year.

"New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland — the entire market is down," he said. "That is, friends, saturation. You're just moving money around. You bring in a new operator and the money just moves around and the entire market doesn't go up."

Sutor noted his state is considering adding three more casinos, which he said "makes no sense."

Atlantic City has lost half its casino revenue and thousands of jobs to competition from Pennsylvania, which is now under pressure from casinos in Ohio and Maryland, said William Ryan Jr. chairman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

"We in Pennsylvania know the competition we now confront will always be there, and the days of double digit growth in that area are probably gone," he said.

More casinos are planned soon for Philadelphia, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland and New York. Hamilton noted that a planned second Philadelphia casino is being appealed to the state Supreme Court.

"There's a lot of competition right now," she said. "If you look at the entire mid-Atlantic region, you've got people really hammering each other to win people over. There's not $400 million in new money in that market. There's just not. We're keeping a wary eye on what's coming down the road; it's a scary situation."



New Jersey is considering allowing a casino in the Meadowlands, and possibly a second one in Jersey City, both just outside New York City.

"We're at a point where we're just moving money around," said Chris Brown, a New Jersey state senator from near Atlantic City, who opposes a plan to extend casino gambling to other parts of the state. "All you're doing is cannibalizing the market you already have."

Lou Kirven, an executive with New York's Empire City casino, said adding two northern New Jersey casinos to a market also planning for three new southern New York casinos would be "one too many. We have saturation."

Bill Hayles, vice president and general manager of Pennsylvania's Hollywood casino at Penn National Race Course, said Maryland's casinos have cut into his business.

"We're feeling it from the Baltimore region, seeing some erosion in our business," he said. "The sad part is before they open, you spend all your time trying to figure out how to right-size your own property."




http://www.enterprisenews.com/article/20150528/NEWS/150526103/11288/NEWS/?Start=1

....Massachusetts casino competition as New Bedford advances....

Somerset developers withdraw from Massachusetts casino competition as New Bedford advances

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press First Posted: May 14, 2015

BOSTON — Developers of a proposed Somerset casino have withdrawn from the competition for Massachusetts' third and final resort casino license, leaving two proposals in the running: one for New Bedford's waterfront and another for the Brockton Fairgrounds.

Crossroads Massachusetts LLC, in a brief letter released by state regulators Thursday, does not cite a reason from dropping its application.

No one from Crossroads was present at a meeting of the state Gaming Commission and a representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said he wasn't surprised by the plan's demise. Commission members in recent months have expressed doubts about the viability of the project as its leadership team changed and it scrambled to assemble financing.

"Nothing surprises me in this business. We never know who is in or out until the last minute," he said.

With Somerset officially out of the competition, attention now shifts to New Bedford and Brockton.

Brockton voters on Tuesday narrowly approved a casino referendum calling for a $650 million resort developed by Mass Gaming and Entertainment, a subsidiary of Rush Street Gaming, a Chicago-based company that operates casinos in Pennsylvania and other states.

On Thursday, the gaming commission allowed the New Bedford casino proposal to move forward in the competition.

After warning the applicant about continued delays, the commission voted to deem their initial application "substantially complete," on the condition that they submit the last of their required financial details in two weeks.

"We're really just down to the final economic terms," promised Scott Butera, a former Foxwoods CEO who is now a partner with KG Urban Enterprises, the New York-based firm that wants to build a $650 million Foxwoods resort on the site of a former NStar power plant.

"Our patience is not unlimited," said Crosby. "Word to the wise: this has got to get moving quickly."
Crosby said the commission hopes to award the license by the end of 2015.

And, in a related development, an Indian tribe seeking federal approval to build a resort casino in Taunton, a city also in the state's southeast, said the gaming commission violated state law by allowing slot parlors to offer electronic versions of table games like blackjack and roulette.

The Mashpee Wampanoag, in a letter to state Attorney General Maura Healey's office released Thursday, said state law limits slot parlors to 1,250 machines and no casino table games.

But the state Gaming Commission approved a regulation last year allowing for up to 1,500 "gaming positions" on 1,250 gambling machines.

Healey's office said it's reviewing the complaint.

Crosby and other commission members defended their actions, saying the now-disputed regulation clarified ambiguity in the state law and was approved after a "rigorous" public hearing process in which no one objected.

The complaint comes as Plainridge Park Casino, a slot parlor in nearby Plainville, is slated to open June 24 with 1,250 slot machines, of which about a dozen are multi-user electronic table games.



http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/ebcbe266eada4db989058c6e94d23f40/MA--Massachusetts-Gambling/

Is it Casino Vultures or Casino Sharks circling?

5 groups vying for Massachusetts’s final casino license

By PHILIP MARCELO
Associated Press

Monday, February 2, 2015

 

 

The competition for Massachusetts’s final casino license, reserved for the state’s southeast region, is slowly coming into focus, as state regulators announced on Friday that Mass Gaming & Entertainment had met the application deadline.

 

The company, an affiliate of Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming, joins New York-based KG Urban Enterprises, as potential rivals for the license.

 

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission said Friday that it also is evaluating application extension requests from Somerset On The Move, Crossroads Massachusetts and the Seafan Trust. All five groups will be invited to address the commission at its next meeting on Feb. 5.

 

Applicants were to submit by Friday detailed financial information about key players and investors in their projects as well as a $400,000 non-refundable fee to defray costs of the commission’s background investigation.

 

But only three of the five possible applicants – Mass Gaming & Entertainment, KG Urban Enterprises and Crossroads Massachusetts — have paid the required fee, the commission said. Applicants must pass the background check before they can continue to the next phase of the process, which focuses on the project proposal itself.

Mass Gaming & Entertainment operates Philadelphia’s SugarHouse Casino and Pittsburgh’s Rivers Casino. It had previously sought a slot parlor license for a development in Millbury but eventually dropped that plan in the face of local opposition. The company declined to release its application materials or any information about the proposed project Friday. But George Carney, owner of the Brockton Fairgrounds, said the company is eying his facility. He declined to elaborate further.

 

 

KG Urban Enterprises, a real estate development firm already has said it wants to build a casino on the New Bedford waterfront.

 

Kathryn Wheaton, who runs the Brookline-based Seafan Trust Corp., has said her group wants to develop a $4 billion casino called the Sun Moon Resort at a 500-acre location she declined to identify.

 

Somerset on the Move LLC, is headed by David Hanlon, a former president of Harrah’s Atlantic City operations and the Rio hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Somerset town leaders hope the company develops a casino on 100 acres of town-owned land just off Interstate 195. The company did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

 

Crossroads Massachusetts LLC is an investment group that included the late David Nunes, who had been working with Connecticut-based casino operator Foxwoods to bring a resort to Milford before residents rejected the proposal in a 2013 referendum.

 

The southeast region faces a number of challenges for casino gambling, including a relatively weak economy and competition from area casinos.

 

Twin River Casino is just over the state line in Lincoln, Rhode Island, and the Mashpee Wampanoags are seeking a federal tribal reservation in Taunton, Massachusetts, where they hope to build a resort casino that does not require a state license. The tribe on Friday touted a “key milestone” in its efforts: approval of the project’s environmental impact report. The tribe said it’s the final step in the state’s environmental review process.

 

Massachusetts already has awarded two resort casino licenses: one to Wynn for a $1.6 billion development in Everett just north of Boston and another to MGM for an $800 million casino in Springfield. Penn National Gaming also holds a slot parlor license for the harness racing facility it’s expanding in Plainville, a town in the state’s southeast region.

 

 

 

http://www.concordmonitor.com/news/work/business/15502493-95/5-groups-vying-for-massachusettss-final-casino-license

 

 

 

Salivating to suck discretionary income from Massachusetts.....

Gaming application deadline extended for Southeast

By George Brennan

gbrennan@capecodonline.com

April 04, 2014

 

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is extending the deadline for commercial casino applicants in Southeastern Massachusetts at least until Sept. 23 partly because the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe remains a player for an Indian casino.

 

The deadline for Phase 2 applications in Region C was July 23, which would have required referendum votes in cities where the casinos are proposed by mid-May.

 

None has been scheduled.

 

At its meeting April 17, the commission may consider extending the deadline even longer. The commission also will consider a change in the $500 million capital requirement after a potential applicant in the region said it's too high for the congested market.

 

The tribe's $500 million casino proposal in Taunton was front and center in Thursday's debate. One year ago, the commission opened up the region to commercial casinos, citing the federal hurdles to the tribe's proposal.

 

The tribe still is awaiting word from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs on its application to have 155 acres in Taunton and 170 acres in Masphee taken into federal trust.

 

By extending the deadline, the commission may know the bureau's outcome before issuing a license, Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said in support of extending the deadline for commercial casinos.

 

"Every day that goes by, we're one day closer to it," he said.

 

Discussing the land-in-trust question, Crosby made a comment that likely sent shock waves through the Southeastern Massachusetts market.

 

"Maybe what we ought to do is wait until that decision is made," he said. "Until that issue is resolved, I don't think anything's going to change. Time isn't going to help."

 

Tribe leaders reacted to the commission's deadline extension saying they remain focused on their own project.

 

"We are well along in our planning and approval processes, and our compact with the commonwealth is approved," Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said. "We're very pleased with the support we've received from the Legislature, the governor, the congressional delegation and the Obama administration, and we're making real progress."

 

Under a compact approved between the tribe and Gov. Deval Patrick, an Indian casino in the region would pay 17 percent of gross gambling revenue to the state. But if a commercial casino is licensed in the same region, the tribe would pay zero, according to the compact.

 

Earlier in Thursday's meeting, the commission rejected an idea floated by casino mogul Steve Wynn, who is seeking the Boston area license. He suggested the commission seek a change in the state law that sets the tax rate for commercial casinos at 25 percent and ask to have it match what the tribe would pay.

 

Mass Gaming & Entertainment LLC, an affiliate of Rush Street Gaming that originally applied for the state's lone slot parlor license, asked for the change in the capital requirement, saying the marketplace is too competitive and has too many variables, such as the tribe, for that much of an investment. The company, which has not yet filed a formal proposal in Region C, requested a deadline extension until the end of the year.

 

The company wants off-site infrastructure costs, preopening interest expenditures and upfront mitigation costs to be calculated as part of the $500 million investment, according to the letter.

 

KG Urban Enterprises, which hopes to build a casino on the New Bedford waterfront, requested the extension to September, in part, to reach a deal with New Bedford leaders on a host community agreement.

 

"We support an extension for Region C," Andy Paven, a spokesman for KG Urban, said.

 

There are substantial costs for KG, including the cleanup of the New Bedford site, that are not part of the capital requirement, so a change in that formula would help their project, too, Paven said.

 

Meanwhile, Foxwoods and Fall River, which are also late to the game, wrote letters to the commission asking it to keep the deadline where it is, though commission ombudsman John Ziemba said officials have since conceded they could use more time.

 

Commissioners pointed out questions were raised about the financing for Foxwoods, which had a proposal rejected by voters in Milford, during last fall's suitability hearings.

 

Karen Wells, director of the commission's Investigations and Enforcement Bureau, said Foxwoods has not submitted any additional information to date.

 

Crosby called it a "long shot" that Foxwoods and Fall River could meet the current deadline given how the company's initial suitability hearing went.

 

A spokeswoman for Foxwoods could not be reached for comment.

 

 

 

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140404/NEWS/404040325