Brockton casino nixed; The sleeping tiger

An “uninspiring” design and a lack of a solid Brockton business plan scuppered Neil Bluhm‘s ambitions in Massachusetts. The state’s gaming commission voted his proposal down, 4-1. “If this were a knockout proposal and a great strategy to lift Brockton, this is such a close call, I for one may have come down a different way, but I don’t think this is the kind of casino Massachusetts envisions,” said Chairman Stephen Crosby. Fellow commissioner Bruce Stebbins went further, saying, “I don’t want to make an award of a license to an application that in my estimation is just not up to the level of excellence I would expect.”

Despite Bluhm’s $677 million price tag, Crosby called the casino design, which resembled a college campus, “less than a knockout,” lacking the “wow factor” of MGM Springfield and Wynn Boston Harbor. While the Mashpee Wampanoag don’t need state approval for their rival Taunton casino, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission‘s ixnay of Brockton clears the way for the regulatory body to approve Project First Light and collect the 17% tax rate to which the tribe has agreed. It seems virtually unthinkable that the MGC would allow Project First Light to proceed without a state license and forfeit the tax dollars. Bluhm’s confederate, George Carney, said he’d be open to revisiting the Brockton proposal if, as Crosby suggested, the Taunton one went off the rails. In the meantime, it is unclear whether MGC member Eduardo Zuniga‘s concern about “building a long-lasting and robust gaming industry,” extends to Taunton. However, Crosby gave us the clearest indication to date of which way things are headed when he said the 2011 enabling legislation was intended to “give the tribe at the apple.”

MGC member Gayle Cameron added that the Wampanoag have held up their end of the bargain and “It’s not our job to forecast the outcome” of a Brockton lawsuit intended to upend the Taunton casino. Brockton Mayor Bill MacDonald went straight into Apocalypse Mode, declaring, “I don’t think in my lifetime there will ever be another private investment of that size offered to the city of Brockton.” Lamented Carney, “in my own mind we did everything we could to win it,” shrugging, “The city needs it, but that’s life, we’ll figure something out.”

* Dover Downs continues to lose money and CEO Denis McGlynn is putting further job cuts on the table. “The way we’ve survived so far is by concentrating on reducing expenses,” he said. “All we can do is continue to contract if we don’t get help.” By “help,” he and his fellow racino owners mean tax reductions, down from their current 43% level. In an effort to help, state Sen. Brian Bushweller (D) has put forward a Rube Goldberg legislative contraption aimed at achieving a similar goal through different methods. Bushweller’s bill would eliminate table game fees, allow sports betting to go online and step down the state’s table game tax from 29% to 15% over two years. This didn’t fly with Gov. Jack Markell‘s office, which said, “Given the tightness in next year’s budget and the fiscal impact of this bill, the administration does not endorse SB 183 at this time, but we expect there will be continued conversations on the subject in the coming weeks.” Perhaps that conversation should include a philosophical discussion of whether it is worth it to have less casino-tax revenue or see racinos close and have no revenue at all.

* Last week, a report landed on my computer desktop with a virtual thud, decreeing India to be a “sleeping tiger,” the perfect animal for casino expansion. Right now, casinos in Goa are estimated to generate $76 million a year but, more conveniently located, gambling in India could generate $10.2 billion from the Indian middle class (who account for only 1% of the country’s population), according to Global Market Advisors. Wrote the firm’s analysts, “So far, few gaming operators have considered China’s democratic and capitalistic neighbour, India, as a potential source of demand. The existing gaming markets in and near India generally offer an unattractive gaming product that could be easily and vastly improved. Other gaming destinations fail to adequately market or cater to the Indian gamer.” The GMA report likened India to China in terms of economy, population and consumer habits, along with the added benefit of “a more stable and less reactionary government.”

The Indian market is pretty paltry compared to other countries: Only 730 tables (and fewer slots) when Nepal and Sri Lanka are added to the equation: ““With a population between 1.25 and 1.30 billion, this equates to between 1.7 and 1.8 million people per available table game.” However, gaming spend on an American scale should expected. The GMA report estimates that urban dwellers would budget $55, 10 times a year for gambling, while rural punters would budget more — $70 — but gamble less often. Given the aging and seedy nature of the Goa gambling flotilla, not to mention its fringe location, India could do a lot better in terms of providing gambling to its people.

* Congratulations to Marina Bay Bands for the three-year renewal of its gaming license. Singapore won’t be mulling additional casinos until 2017, so Sheldon Adelson still can make a lot of hay while the sun shines. The Marina Bay Sands retail mall also continues to have a “For Sale” sign symbolically in the window, so Adelson can make a quick score that way.