Massachusetts Swings Both Ways with Casino Vote

The MGM Springfield is one casino that is possible to Massachusetts in the longer term; it got a thumbs up from local voters this week

This past week saw a good amount of voting occurring across Massachusetts, including two key votes on proposed casino tasks within the state. The results were split, giving both casino proponents and their opponents something to crow about.

Hard Rock Hits the Skids

The larger vote arrived in town of West Springfield, where there was a proposition to build an $800 million intense Rock casino. The casino ended up being expected to be one of the key competitors for the Western Massachusetts casino license.

But that task was dealt exactly what could possibly be a fatal blow on Tuesday, after the voters of western Springfield decided to reject the plan in a referendum that is public. About 55% of voters there voted against the casino, with 4,165 coming down against the project versus just 3,413 for it. The loss came as a surprise to many, while the campaign saw supporters of the casino drastically outspend opponents.

That rejection narrows the competition for the sole casino license in Western Massachusetts. At the brief moment, it appears that only two candidates have a chance at that license: an MGM project in Springfield, and a Mohegan Sun proposition that might be located in Palmer. The Palmer proposition still needs to be voted on by residents, while the MGM plan was approved by Springfield voters.

Heavy Spending No Help

The western Springfield casino would have been built on the site associated with Eastern States Exposition, house to the Big E the largest agricultural fair in New England. In early stages, it showed up as if Hard Rock had little chance to overcome initial opposition to the project. That changed a bit as the casino string spent nearly $1 million campaigning for the project making promises about the total amount of income they would make for West Springfield annually.

Ultimately, however, opposition groups could actually make their instance better, plus the task was soundly defeated. The victory was regarded as a big victory for anti-casino teams across the state, all of that are badly financed in comparison to their pro-casino opponents.

The other vote into the state may have had a far more surprising result. In the town of Plainville, a plan to develop a slot parlor at Plainridge Racecourse was overwhelming authorized with 76% of the vote. An overall total of 1,582 voters came out in favor of the plan versus only 502 against.

The win capped a remarkable turnaround for Plainridge. Just month that is last state regulators determined that the track’s ownership group was unfit to compete for the solitary slots parlor license that was available. But Penn National produced last-minute relocate to purchase the track, overtaking the slots parlor proposal as well. That was enough to satisfy the Gaming Commission, which provided their approval for the task.

Needless to say, not everyone was delighted utilizing the racino’s approval.

‘ The process isn’t working,’ said Mary-Ann Greanier, a known user of No Plainville Racino. ‘The safeguards we were told you may anticipate aren’t occurring.’

The Plainville project will compete against racino proposals in Raynham and Leominster, though the Leominster project must be approved by still voters.

Along with these projects, there are additionally three applicants for a license within the better Boston area: a Foxwoods proposal in Milford, a Wynn Resorts casino project in Everett, and a Suffolk Downs project in East Boston. There is also a license that is single in Southeastern Massachusetts, but as of yet, no developers have used for a license for the reason that region.

Gambling Industry Criticizes Very First Draft of Florida Pari-Mutuel Rules

Parimutuel wagering and jai-alai are getting the focus as Florida reviews its racetrack and betting rules.

In an attempt to reform the state’s gambling industry, Florida is working on several fronts towards clarifying and changing lots of the rules that govern betting in the Sunshine State. One area of attention is on pari-mutuel wagering: the betting that goes on at the state’s race tracks and frontons that are jai-alai the state. But industry insiders say that the very first draft of guidelines that have been proposed by state regulators simply will not work.

Workshop to Hammer Out Wagering Rules

Those rules will ultimately be discussed at a workshop with the Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering on October 16, but were first released in a draft kind week that is last. The guidelines were created to eliminate a number that is growing of techniques that are obviously outside of what the state intends to enable at such venues. Even though many of these new rules work, those within the industry say that many simply show that regulators aren’t familiar sufficient with Florida’s gambling industry to produce such changes that are sweeping.

‘Some of them seem sensible,’ stated Ken Stirling, executive director of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. ‘ Some of them haven’t been thought out very well. One or two are pretty silly.’

One of many big areas covered in the draft rules is horse racing regulations designed to expel non-standard racing. Many in the industry consent that this is a good clear idea, as ‘barrel racing’ and ‘flag-drop’ race have been seen by some operators in order to cheaply earn payments that will also allow them to offer card rooms or slots alongside those events.

The brand new rules would help put an end to practices that are such. They might bar ‘the racing animal to improve program in response to any obstacles on the racing surface’ and make sure that jockeys conform to uniform and weight demands that couldn’t be an issue for legitimate racing operations.

Disagreement Over Acceptable Race Lengths

But the laws don’t stop there, and that’s where some feel that the rules go incorrect. According to Stirling, some of these rules could devastate the race industry if they aren’t changed.

For example, the regulations that are new require that most races are at minimum six furlongs in length something which might make sense in the event that you’ve only seen the Triple Crown races or the Breeder’s Cup, but making no sense for the industry as a whole.

‘[The guideline that] no race must be smaller than…six furlongs…is a killer,’ Stirling said, noting that such races would be too long for two-year-old horses rushing in the summer. ‘That’s silly. We run child races at 4.5 furlongs and we’ve been doing it for a century. I know they are in Tallahassee, but we’ve these things called phones.’

He also objected to a rule that states that each competition must have at the least six horses a guideline which could cause races become canceled as a result of eleventh hour scratches.

Jai-Alai would be affected by the regulations that are new. For instance, each location will be required to own eight players that are certified rotation. This rule comes in response to a controversy at Ocala Poker and Jai-Alai, which began the 2012 season with just two players.

While there could be issues with the rules, division director Leon Biegalski says there shouldn’t be a nagging issue, and that the workshops were created to help iron out these issues using the industry’s help.

‘They’re draft rules. They’re a point that is starting. We should make sure that most of the permit holders and all the stake holders are on the page that is same terms of just what the regulation is that’s around and what ought to be out there,’ Biegalski said.

2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics Could Mean Gaming Industry Silver

Casino industry giants were most likely just like excited as these citizens that are japanese news regarding the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

It is difficult to believe that 2020 is only seven years away, but that’s the length of time we have before the Tokyo that is newly-granted summer will be upon us. But athletes-in-training won’t end up being the only ones reaching for gold, as the casino that is worldwide may also be trying to achieve what up until now has seemed almost insurmountable: getting legal casinos sanctioned, developed, built, and up and running in time for you to drive the tourism revolution that those Tokyo games are bound to bring in. With Japan the past great untapped gaming that is asian, it’s a prize that lots of into the gaming industry are inspired to produce.

Could the Games end up being the Needed drive?

Japan infamous for decades of foot dragging in the legal casino issue now has extra motivation to help make it all happen too; the island country must find some way to foot the expected $1.53 billion bill they are going to be underwriting to produce the venues and infrastructure necessary to host A olympic season. To that particular end, two feasible casinos on the drawing boards, one in Tokyo and the other in Osaka, could generate $10 billion in yearly gambling revenues, making them exactly the cash cows that the city needs to pay its way. Japan industry that is gambling Grant Govertsen principal of Las Vegas-based Union Gaming Group says that amount would become more than the $6.2 billion that the entire Las vegas, nevada Strip took in for 2012; so it ain’t chump change.

Those profits would produce an estimated ten percent per casino for Tokyo, not to mention licensing that is additional and local municipal fees. Govertsen told investors he’s bullish about the whole thing.

‘ We think the national federal government should consider incorporated resort development, at the least in Tokyo, as being a methods to help the relevant Olympics infrastructure arrived at fruition,’ he told investors after the Tokyo games announcement. And Govertsen isn’t the only person who smells money in the Asian metropolis; lots of the gaming industry’s biggest players made tracks to Tokyo as soon because they heard the announcement to see if they might scout out land for possible casino developments.

Industry Leaders sites that are scouting

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Term is out that Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. has its attention for a Tokyo Bay web site, on a bit of reclaimed land, and he is perhaps not alone riding his covered wagon across the prairie to stake out some land. American behemoths MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment Corp. (the latter of who’s death is apparently grossly exaggerated for a basis that is daily happen spotted in Japan, as has overseas industry giants SJM and Melco Crown Entertainment. Everybody seems to want in regarding the potential Gold Rush of 2020.

‘Japan represents an opportunity that is historic tourism expansion in a nation with an incredibly rich cultural history,’ said MGM Resorts Executive Vice President Alan Feldman. ‘Tokyo is in a position that is extraordinary re-energize the whole country’s tourism and entertainment industry.’ Feldman says MGM has been monitoring happenings in Japan for almost 2 yrs, and both discussing possible business alliances also testing the temperature for legislative passage.

And while Japan was not noted for moving quickly in this arena, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics could possibly be just the fire they want to create the gambling cooking pot up to a boil at last.

‘In the situation of Tokyo, we think there would be government that is significant to accomplish an integrated resort in time for the opening of 2020 Olympics,’ Govertsen stated.