Oh, that Gary Loveman is hilarious! Sorry, folks, I had to stop that video so I could have a laugh when he boasted, “Caesars [Entertainment] stands for the ultimate in destination luxury resorts?” Since when? A bunch of forward-looking fellas with names like Steve Wynn, Sheldon Adelson and the pioneering Kirk Kerkorian had left Caesars Palace in the dust long before Loveman bought the place, at a time when it was on its uppers. Once Loveman’s ego enters a room, there’s precious little space for anything else. But I digress …
Yesterday was the big dog-and-pony show for Suffolk Downs Park, starring Loveman and Richard “Coastal Marina” Fields. Architect David Manfredi claimed the $1 billion design was “from that tradition of Caesars … embracing the guest,” which is an audacious bit of revisionist history. That aesthetic is pure Wynn and he endured a fair amount of male-chauvinist sniggering when Bellagio and Beau Rivage were rolled out, with industry old-timers deriding the designs as “feminine.” (Wynn execs replied that, yes, they were, because the woman usually chooses the hotel when a couple goes on vacation.)
In terms of casino size (200K sq. ft.) and hotel rooms (300), overlooking a Target store and a scenic oil-tank farm, the Suffolk Downs resort would be just a bit bigger than the casino-hotel at Sands Bethlehem. However, Las Vegas Sands also built a number of major amenities too — convention center, outlet mall, concert venue — and stayed below the $1 billion mark, to the best of our knowledge. The Caesars CEO is predicting gambling business (of which his company will get a 20%) will be well beyond capacity once the casino opens and, with bankruptcy breathing down his neck, he’d better be right.
Loveman bloviated about going “where you’re wanted,” in a snide jab aimed at Wynn Resorts. But if he expects to be hailed as civic savior he’s in for a rude surprise. Since the parimutuel sits astride both East Boston and Revere, there’s a territorial dispute: The former will get all the sales-tax goodies (hotel, casino, restaurants) while the latter has … parking lots and horse poop. Fields is making noises about cutting a side deal with Revere or at least being willing to “hear what their concerns are.” Finally, if you view those video clips in full-screen mode, you will notice a “Caesars” logo on the casino park of “The Resort at Suffolk Downs.” How much do you want to be that Loveman pulls a bait-and-switch, and substitutes the “Horseshoe” brand before we know it? After all, “Caesars” is such a valuable brand it must be reserved for cities with burgeoning casino industries and tremendous growth upside … like Windsor, Ontario and Atlantic City.
(Editor’s note: Unfortunately, over half this blog posting — dealing with the Mashpee Wampanoags and continuing developments in Illinois — was destroyed by a computer glitch and I haven’t time to reconstruct it. My apologies.)
