Author: Casino Connection Staff

Workers at Atlantic City’s newest casinos are in the process of unionizing through UNITE Here Local 54, Atlantic City’s largest casino workers union.

The Press of Atlantic City reports that the nearly 2,500 combined workers at the Hard Rock Atlantic City and the Ocean Resort casino are in different stages of the bargaining process. Hard Rock employees have designated the union as their bargaining agent. Ocean Resort employees are still in the “card check” phase seeking to approve designating a bargaining agent.

Both casinos recently re-opened in June under new ownership. The Hard Rock was the former Trump Taj Mahal and Ocean Resort was the former Revel Atlantic City.

Local 54 has been recognized to represent Hard Rock’s nearly 1,500 union employees, which includes bartenders, servers and other hospitality workers. The union and the casino company began contract negotiations in September, the Press reported.

“It was always our objective to get Hard Rock’s contract done first,” Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54 told the paper. “We’re further down the road with them, and that was by design.”

Ocean Resort’s about 1,200 employees are now signing forms to authorize being part of a collective bargaining unit. The union and the casino hotel have a card check neutrality agreement in place, which means the casino supports workers unionizing.

Still, once workers signal their intent to unionize, a third-party must verify the authenticity of the signatures before a union is legally allowed to represent the workers. That process can often take anywhere from two to three years, the Press reported.

Local 54 currently represents close to 8,500 casino workers in Atlantic City. In 2017, when only seven casino properties were open in Atlantic City, Local 54 reported membership of 10,266 to the U.S. Department of Labor, the report said.

The move comes as the New Jersey Legislature has reached a consensus to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024. The minimum wage will increase to $10 in July and then add $1 a year through July 2024.

The Arena Football League has made it official and approved starting a new franchise in Atlantic City.

The team will play in the city’s Boardwalk Hall Arena. A fan contest to help name the team is scheduled.

The city has had poor luck before with minor league sports franchises, but this marks the first time a team in a major league of a sport will call the resort home. Arena league officials have said the start of sports betting in Atlantic City was a major reason for locating the franchise there.

“Atlantic City is a great market for the Arena Football League,” said Randall Boe, the league’s commissioner in a press release. “The AFL is focused on fan engagement and the integration of sports betting, fantasy and fan involvement with our games. Atlantic City is a perfect fit with that strategy and will be a great city for the Arena Football League.”

The deal is subject to the completion of a contract between the league and the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which controls Boardwalk Hall. The authority has approved starting negotiations.

The team’s operating management group, Trifecta Sports & Entertainment, includes former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski, former Eagles and St. Louis Rams coach Dick Vermeil, former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston and former Saints and Green Bay Packers guard Jahri Evans, according to the Associated Press. The group also owns Arena League franchises in Philadelphia and Albany.

Both Atlantic City and Atlantic County have been advised that they will have to collectively pay $4.8 million over four years in a previously undisclosed tax settlement with the owners of the Hard Rock Atlantic City casino.

The state of New Jersey has informed the city and county of the settlement, which was not part of previous settlements or subject to legislation passed by the state to allow casinos to make payments in lieu of taxes in exchange for ceasing tax appeals. The Hard Rock was not originally part of that legislation because it had closed as a casino in 2016. Hard Rock re-opened the casino in June.

Department of Community Affairs spokeswoman Lisa Ryan told the AP that there are no remaining tax appeal issues after the Hard Rock appeal.

Also, the CRDA Board of Directors has approved moving forward with exploratory steps of the AtlantiCare Health Park Project.

The proposed three-story, 65,000-square-foot, $38 million health park would be located at the corner of Ohio and Atlantic avenues near the current Atlantic City Regional Medical Center hospital. The new facility would have dialysis programs, an urgent care center, and a medical education program with residencies for medical students. The CRDA would provide $15 million, as well as the $3 million lot the complex will be built on, according to NJ.com.

CRDA officials hope it will anchor a new zone along with the recently opened Stockton University satellite campus in the city for educational and medical facilities. The authority is hoping to diversify the resort’s economy away from an over reliance on casinos.

Atlantic City posted another strong year for conventions and meetings bookings in 2018.

Meet AC, the marketing and sales branch of the Atlantic City Convention Center, said 238 conventions were booked during the year, the fourth in a row of year-on-year increases.

According to Meet AC CEO Jim Wood, the impact works out to 371,996 occupied hotel rooms through 2021 and a boost to the local economy of around $400 million.

That it was achieved despite an ongoing shutdown of NJ Transit’s Atlantic City Rail Line, and the lack of a clear timetable for its reopening, was especially significant, Wood said.

“We do recognize, though, for the most part, we are a regional destination. And so our emphasis is on the regional,” he said. “And it’s really because the barrier of the transportation. It’s tough when you’re an hour and five minutes away from a primary airport that’s got the bulk of the flights.”

Meet AC is 96 percent funded by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which, in turn, is supported through a portion of the state’s 8 percent tax on casino revenues. The authority said recently it is upping the organization’s 2019 funding by $1.3 million to $7.8 million.

Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack became the fourth Pennsylvania casino to open a sports book, opening what is dubbed simply “The Book” for a two-day trial last Tuesday and opening for operation on Thursday.

The Book at Harrah’s joins SugarHouse in Philadelphia, Parx in Bensalem and the South Philadelphia Turf Club—owned by Parx parent Greenwood Racing—as the fourth metro Philly sports book, just in time for Super Bowl bets. Hollywood Casino outside Harrisburg opened the first Pennsylvania sports book last May.

“We are excited to bring sports betting to Delaware County and allow our guests from the tri-state area to experience our property in a whole new way,” said Harrah’s Philadelphia Senior Vice President and General Manager Chris Albrecht in a release. “With our gaming offering, live harness racing, our event center, award-winning restaurants and now the sports book, Harrah’s Philadelphia remains a must-visit destination in the Philadelphia region.”

The Book, located in the back of the Chester, Pennsylvania racino’s gaming floor, features 19 lounge seats, 11 high-top tables, bar seating and 45 large-screen television monitors. Special food and beverage offerings will be featured on game days. Bets are accepted at six teller windows, self-betting kiosks and two horse-racing terminals. The sports book occupies 4,322 square feet adjacent to the casino’s table-game pit.

Bets are taken on football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer and college games, featuring straight bets, parlay bets, in-game betting and other options.

“The launch of retail sports betting at Harrah’s Philadelphia is another exciting milestone, showcasing Caesars Entertainment’s commitment to leading this expanding industry,” said Christian Stuart, executive vice president of gaming and interactive entertainment for Caesars Entertainment. “The Caesars brands powered by SG Digital technology will be a powerful player as we expand across the U.S. in retail and mobile sports betting (pending regulatory approval).”

The first 1,000 bettors on Thursday received a commemorative “The Book” t-shirt. Sports bets earn points in the Caesars Total Rewards loyalty club.

Atlantic City casinos saw a major increase in total gaming revenue in 2018 buoyed by the introduction of sports betting and the growth of online gaming.

However, the numbers continue to indicate that the re-opening of two Boardwalk casinos in Atlantic City in June—the Hard Rock Atlantic City at the former Trump Taj Mahal and the Ocean Resort at the former Revel Atlantic City—has hurt competition in the market. Only one of the city’s seven casinos operating in 2017—the Golden Nugget—saw an increase in revenue for the year.

All told, the city’s casinos took in nearly $2.86 billion in 20118, up about 7.5 percent from 2017.

The introduction of sports betting at city casinos along with two state racetracks brought in more than $1.24 billion in handle for the less than six months sports betting was running in the state. That generated about $94 million in win for the casinos and tracks offering sports books. The state received about $10.4 million in sports betting taxes.

James Plousis, chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, said 2018 was the third straight year that Atlantic City’s gambling revenue increased, but did note the impact of the new casino openings.

“While the city had a good year, market adjustments from competition occurred and will continue into 2019,” Plousis said in a press release. “The continuing strength of internet gaming plus a growing sports wagering market will provide the industry with tools to compete.”

The revenue figures were released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. According to an analysis by the Associated Press, Golden Nugget showed a revenue increase of 13.7 percent to $327.8 million. The six other casinos operating in 2017 saw declines.

The Borgata, the city’s market leader, saw its casino revenue decline 4 percent to $771.1 million. Tropicana was down 2.5 percent to nearly $381 million. Resorts was down 3.3 percent to $184.2 million; Harrah’s was down 8.4 percent to almost $333 million; Bally’s was down 9.1 percent to nearly $192 million, and Caesars was down 13.5 percent to $281.3 million.

Hard Rock won $166.7 million from late June through the end of the year, while Ocean Resort won $101.1 million during that same period.

Ocean Resort is in the process of being acquired by an unannounced company assuming a majority ownership stake in it in return for making a $70 million investment to help keep the casino operating. The casino has struggled to find its place in the expanded casino market despite having the leading sports book in the resort.

Online gambling remained a bright spot in the state, taking in nearly $300 million last year, an increase of 21.6 percent over 2017. Of the two internet-only gambling entities in the state, Resorts Digital was up 76.3 percent to $75.7 million, and Caesars Interactive-NJ was up 5.9 percent to $45.5 million, according to the AP.

The Golden Nugget won $104 million online last year and continues as the market leader.

Among racetracks offering sports betting, the Meadowlands earned $31.3 million in sports betting revenue, and Monmouth Park earned $12.4 million for the year, the AP reported.

For the month of December, Atlantic City casinos generated $247.4 million in revenue a nearly 20 percent increase over the same month in 2017 when seven casinos brought in $207 million.

Online gaming revenue generated $29 million in December, an increase of nearly 40 percent over the same month in 2017. Sports betting brought in $9.3 million in revenue in December for Atlantic City’s casino properties. Including the state’s two licensed racetracks, sports betting revenue for December was $20.8 million.

The names and logos of casinos and sports betting operators may soon be a regular sight on the NASCAR circuit after the organization said it will allow racing teams to sell gambling sponsorships.

The announcement comes in the wake of a partnership recently concluded between the dominant sanctioning body of U.S. stock car racing and Sportradar to monitor betting activity on the NASCAR circuit and assist the organization in ensuring the integrity of its races.

NASCAR is still searching for a partner to help it monetize its proprietary racing data for distribution to casinos and bookmakers.

But, in the meantime, it is speeding ahead with new regulations for the 2019 season that will allow betting sponsors to advertise on cars at all tracks.

It will be a first in the U.S., which has resisted the alignment with gambling that has long been a fixture in international sports, most prominently in elite European soccer.

To take the example of the wealthiest and most-watched pro soccer organization in the world, the English Premier League, nine of the 20 clubs wear uniforms featuring gambling companies as the main sponsors, and betting entities make up nearly 60 percent of the league’s total sponsorships.

Italy, France, Spain and Germany also allow their clubs to feature betting companies as sponsors.

Among U.S. companies, only Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship allows them. Cyprus-based Parimatch, a major player in online betting and gambling in Russia and the CIS, is the UFC’s official betting and wagering partner in Europe (excluding the UK and Ireland), the Middle East and Africa, and Parimatch branding is featured on UFC clothing and paraphernalia during matches in those countries.

Fox Sports and NBC Sports—the two networks that broadcast NASCAR races—have agreed to cover the circuit’s betting sponsorships like any other. Within certain limits. The sponsors will be restricted from added exposure in popular areas such as in-car cameras because of legal issues over advertising in states that don’t allow sports betting.

If legal sports betting arrives in New York this year it looks like it will be restricted to on-site wagering at the state’s commercial and tribal casinos.

That’s how Governor Andrew Cuomo sees it anyway, which means that’s how it likely will go.

Cuomo’s budget director, Robert Mujica, said the administration believes extending sports betting beyond the casinos’ physical space—that is, to any online or remote platform, or to bricks and mortar locations such as racetracks, racinos and OTBs—would violate the state Constitution.

As for amending the Constitution accordingly, “That’s a separate conversation,” Mujica said.

As expected, the governor endorsed legalization in his 2019 State of the State and budget proposal delivered last Tuesday, but he was careful to steer clear of the bigger picture—a much more complex picture as well, legally and politically—and sticking to the four privately owned upstate casinos whose 2013 authorizing legislation already allows it: Resorts World Catskills in Monticello, del Lago Resort & Casino in the Finger Lakes, Tioga Downs Casino Resort near Binghamton in the Southern Tier, and Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady.

Their biggest obstacle was removed last May when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling voiding a longstanding federal ban on sports betting. At that point, it was a matter of the state Gaming Commission establishing rules under which operating licenses could be issued. That’s now expected to happen as soon as the end of this month, according to Morris Peters, spokesman for the state Budget Office.

The Oneida Indian Nation has indicated it plans to start taking bets at its three casinos in central New York as soon as its commercial competition is in business under the terms of its compact with the state, which permits the tribe any form of gaming that’s legal elsewhere in New York.

The state’s other major gaming tribe, the Senecas, have not stated their plans publicly, but are expected to follow suit.

In the legislature, Senator Joseph Addabbo, the Queens Democrat who became chair of the Racing, Gaming & Wagering Committee when his party took control of the Senate after the November elections, responded guardedly to Cuomo’s announcement.

He had pre-filed a bill for the new legislative session to allow online and remote wagering and now says he’s seeking legal opinions on what he called the governor’s “interpretation.”

Addabbo’s counterpart in the Assembly, Democrat Gary Pretlow of Yonkers, was expected to introduce a bill similar to Addabbo’s. However, Addabbo has since hedged his bets by sponsoring a second bill that would start the process of amending the Constitution, a three-year ordeal at best that requires the assent of two successive legislatures and approval by the voters in a referendum.

Queens Democrat Clyde Vanel, meanwhile, has introduced a bill in the Assembly to create a legislative task force to study and make recommendations for regulating online betting.

“I think we need to maximize the potential, and do it right but do it quickly,” Addabbo said. “With the governor’s proposal, we now have a schematic to move forward with sports betting. It’s important that we get it started, even if we have to expand it in phases.”

Credit Suisse gaming analyst Cameron McKnight of Credit Suisse estimates New York could generate $810 million in sports betting revenue by its third year of operation, assuming mobile betting is legalized by 2022.

Greenwood Racing, Inc., parent company of the Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, has launched sports betting at its South Philadelphia Turf Club.

After two days of testing, Greenwood was to launch its live sports book on Thursday following a $1 million renovation of an existing bar. The Turf Club book features seven live tellers, nine betting kiosks and new TV monitor.

The book will offer competition to its former partner in South Philadelphia, Cordish Companies, which is opening the Live! casino hotel in the district that is home to Philadelphia’s sports stadiums. Greenwood opened a temporary sports book at Parx on January 8.

Maryland state lawmakers, fresh off their failure to pass a ballot question for last year’s general election to legalize sports betting, are exploring whether or not they can approve sports betting without amending the state constitution.

The position of state officials has been that amending the state constitution is required to expand gambling in the state. That requires the state General Assembly to pass a ballot question and for voters to approve the question in a general election. That’s how the state approved casinos in 2008. Since that was not done for this year’s midterm elections, the earliest the question can be put to a vote would be November 2020.

According to a report in the Associated Press, state lawmakers are eager to jump on the revenue bandwagon posed by sports betting before that, and are zeroing in on potentially regulating sports betting through the state lottery. “If we can find a way to do it without a referendum, I’m certainly amenable to move forward this year, state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller told reporters, according to the AP.

House Speaker Michael Busch has indicated he is open to considering any ideas that could bypass the need to wait nearly two years to implement sports betting.

The state lottery, created through a ballot vote in 1972, has the authority to add lottery games without further approval, but the commercial vendors that invariably must be involved in the operation may cause it to legally be considered an expansion of commercial gambling, subject to a statewide vote and amendment to the constitution.

Maryland Lottery Director Gordon Medenica told the AP that attorneys are currently examining the definition of lottery operation that’s on the books. “We’re prepared as an agency—obviously, we were prepared a year ago—to embrace it,” he said, “and we’re certainly keeping up with all of the developments in sports betting.”

Medenica said that considering the procurement process, the lottery could be up and running with sports betting by early 2020, about a year before sports books would be able to go live after a successful ballot vote in November of that year.

However, many are wondering whether it would be worth the effort to initiate sports betting now through the lottery, since opponents are bound to file lawsuits to block the operation. “Unfortunately, there are going to be lawsuits no matter who does what,” Miller said, meaning the issue could be tied up in the courts until 2020 anyway.

A spate of sports betting bills have been filed in the Massachusetts legislature and assigned to committees.

Governor Charlie Baker last week sent a proposed bill, “An Act to Establish Sports Wagering in the Commonwealth” to the legislature that would allow stand-alone online sportsbooks, but allow brick and mortar operations, while taxing the former at 12.5 percent and the latter at 10 percent.

Baker’s comprehensive bill would also include a $100,000 application fee and $500,000 licensing fee. It would put sports betting under the regulatory arm of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. It would allow sports betting at the state’s three casinos and allow individuals to place bets from their computers or mobile platforms.

Baker’s bill comes about a week after two legislators filed competing bills. The governor’s bill comes just before the deadline for submitting bills for this session.

Governor Baker sent a letter with his bill pointing out that neighboring states, such as Rhode Island, are putting pressure on the Bay State by legalizing sports books. He claims his bill could earn the state a “projected $35 million in revenue” as early as the next fiscal year.

This estimate compares to $27.2 million that an Oxford study by the American Gaming Association predicted would be produced by a 10 percent tax.

Senator Brendan Crighton’s bill SD 903, which is also comprehensive, would allow interactive sports wagering operators to open online operations, whether or not they have a brick and mortar connection. Online operators would pay $1 million to apply and physical sportsbook operators would pay $500,000. All would be taxed at 12.5 percent, which the senator estimates would bring in between $50 million and $70 million annually.

SD 903 allows sports book at the three existing casinos, simulcast racing operations and allow mobile wagering through platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel but not betting on college games—all under the umbrella of the MGC.

Crighton told reporters, “We certainly see (mobile sporting betting) as the future of gaming and if we are going to bring people into legalized sport betting and off of these illegal platforms, we’re going to need to have that component.”

He told the State House News Service: “Every day there are new legislatures out there filing bills and considering things so really it’s time for us to be deliberate but also have a sense of urgency to get something passed this session.”

Both bills would prohibit betting on college sports.

Crighton explained why his bill prohibits college betting, “We heard some concerns from institutions of higher education, in terms of the integrity of their sports. They’re not the billion dollar operations that professional sports leagues are. They’re paid athletes. So we kept Massachusetts college teams exempt. You can’t bet on a Massachusetts college team.”

Jill R. Dorson of Sports Handle wrote last week: “The idea that online sportsbooks should be able to be freestanding seems like an idea that should have come up somewhere earlier, but makes perfect sense considering that DraftKings is headquartered in Boston, and has been lobbying/campaigning in favor of such a structure.”

DraftKings spokesman Jamie Chisholm in a statement last week argued that “Legal, regulated mobile sports betting provides the best mechanism to not only protect consumers, but to eliminate illegal offshore gambling, ensure game integrity, generate new revenue for the Commonwealth and fuel the growth of Massachusetts’ sports-tech sector.”

Lt. Governor Karyn Polito issued a statement supporting the governor. “Over the last seven years, the Massachusetts gaming industry has grown into an economic driver for thousands of jobs associated with construction, hospitality and tourism.” She added, “The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has developed a comprehensive set of regulations, and passing this bill into law will allow the proper oversight of the industry’s next chapter in addition to providing critical support to the Commonwealth’s cities and towns.”

Senator Michael Rush’s competing bill SD110 includes a rare provision that would collected the “integrity fee” or “royalty” of .25 percent that professional sports leagues have sought, but largely been denied in other states. Rush’s bill would further favor the leagues by requiring bookmakers to buy data from them. His bill would allow for college sports betting and have a less expensive application fee than Crighton’s, $100,000 compared to $500,000/$ 1 million. The bill does address tax rates. The MGC would also oversee sports book.

Two other bills that are not considered comprehensive have also been filed. Senator Bruce Tarr’s SD 908 would create a “Special Commission on Sports Gaming.” Senator James Welch’s SD 882 would amend existing laws to include sports betting, and allow existing casinos to offer it, at 6.75 percent tax.

Boston-based online fantasy sports operators DraftKings and FanDuel, which are both lobbying heavily to be allowed to offer sports betting, will undoubtedly oppose a provision that skims some of their profits to pay to the professional sports leagues such as the NFL and MLB, the NBA and the PGA tour have all united to lobby for.

Persons who concern themselves with the social costs of gambling are warning that legalizing sports betting could prove an unhealthy lure for the 2 percent of the population considered problem gamblers and the 8 percent considered at risk.

Victor Matheson, a sports economist and professor at Holy Cross, in an interview with the Boston Herald, warned, “There’s reason to believe that sports gambling is addictive to certain folks. Sports gambling gives the illusion of control and it particularly impacts young men.”

The Boston Herald editorial board later issued this warning: “The act would allow sports wagering lounges at the three licensed casino operations in the commonwealth as well as permitting bettors within the state to place sports wagers from their phones and laptops. In other words it will be everywhere. In this endeavor, elected leaders must not gamble — caution must guide us.”

The nonprofit Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling plans to ask the legislature to earmark some of the expected tax revenue for treatment of problem gambling.

Defending against such criticism, Baker issued this statement: “Our legislation puts forth a series of commonsense proposals to ensure potential licensees are thoroughly vetted and safeguards are in place to protect against problem gambling and illegal activity.”

MGM Resorts International has bowed to a growing contingent of activist investors with an agreement to appoint hedge fund boss Keith Meister, a protégé of Carl Icahn’s, to the board of directors.

Meister, whose New York-based Corvex Management owns roughly 3 percent of the Las Vegas-based gaming giant, was expected to join the board last week, expanding its size to 13 directors.

The timing of his appointment appears linked to a Reuters report that hedge fund Starboard Value, led by Jeffrey Smith, is also building a position in MGM and is considering pushing for changes.

Corvex owned less than 1 percent of MGM as of September 30, implying it bought about $300 million worth of the company’s stock since October.

Meister founded Corvex in 2010 after working for Icahn and had been described as the financier’s right-hand man. He has a history of seeking changes at companies he invests in, including fast food operator YUM! Brands, where he served as a director, and oil producer Energen. He also has sat on the board of the Williams Companies, among others.

“As a significant shareholder in our company, we have been engaged in constructive dialogue over the last several months,’’ MGM Chairman and CEO James Murren said of Meister, adding that management’s strategy is “aligned’’ with Corvex.

Earlier this month, MGM released a blueprint for boosting EBITDA by centralizing operations, investing in technology and cutting costs—including shaving around 2,000 jobs—moves the company says will boost annual cash flow by $300 million by the end of 2021.

Over the last several years, the company has invested some $6 billion to build three new casinos and another $650 million to revamp and rebrand the Monte Carlo on the Las Vegas Strip as Park MGM. Those projects are expected to contribute to lifting operating cash flow to as high as $3.9 billion by 2020, according to news reports, an increase of more than one-third compared with 2017. It would be one of the best growth rates in the industry and would enable MGM to return more cash to investors while also paying down debt.

“But,” as Jefferies gaming analyst David Katz put it, “the stock would tell you they have more to do.”

MGM Resorts and Strip rival Caesars Entertainment—which reportedly is in Icahn’s sights—both cut their earnings outlook last year, sending their shares tumbling more than 40 percent and feeding speculation of growing hedge fund interest.

As for MGM, excluding its majority stakes in Macau operator MGM China and real estate investment trust MGM Growth Properties, the company’s domestic operations are valued at only about eight times 2019 operating cash flow. That is a 25 percent discount to recent industry acquisition prices of 10 times, according to JPMorgan.

“They are feeling some pressure from investors to have their stock work a little better,” Katz said. “They are starting to hear it.”

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission was scheduled this week to consider whether to move forward on reigniting the bidding process for a casino in the southeastern part of the state, aka Region C.

Massachusetts Gaming Commission Executive Director Edward Bedrosian was on tap to update the panel on what its options might be since the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe’s efforts to regain its federal trust status has so far not advanced in Congress.

This isn’t the first time the commission has been briefed on this issue. In December Bedrosian answered some questions and promised to brief them in January.

Two years ago the commission turned down a bid by Mass Gaming & Entertainment for a $700 million casino in the Brockton Fairgrounds. The company, a subsidiary of Rush Street Gaming, had since then asked to be reconsidered in light of the Mashpee tribes’ legal problems. The legal challenge to the tribe was at least partially funded by Rush Street.

Last June MGE sent a letter to the MGC claiming that it is “ready to start” and able to pay the $85 million license fee. Since one of the main reasons for the 2011 Gaming Expansion Act was to generate job, MGE noted that its project would create 2,000 construction jobs and 1,800 permanent positions. It would also pay its host city $13 million a year and the state $70 million in taxes, according to the company’s estimates.

Encore Boston Harbor

At the same meeting the commission was expected to meet behind closed doors to discuss the lawsuit by former Wynn Resorts CEO and founder Steve Wynn, who is suing in a Nevada court to prevent records of a sexual harassment claim against him from being published as part of the commissions’ investigative report on the company’s continued suitability to operate the Encore Boston Harbor that it is near completing along the Mystic River in Everett.

MGM Springfield

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission learned last week that the $960 million MGM Springfield earned about $21.6 million in December, which was $335,311 more than in November. Of that, $14,255,518 came from slots and $7,327,706 from tables.

November’s revenues were $21,247,914.09, compared to $22,242,742.41 in October.

President and CEO Michael Mathis told the MGC “We’ve had an extraordinary response to the opening of our resort and bringing the first integrated luxury resort and entertainment destination to New England,” the statement reads. “We had a tremendously successful opening week, welcoming more than 150,000 visitors over our first weekend alone.”

Meanwhile, crime around the new casino has had a successful first few months as well, having risen by about 300 percent since it opened.

Although police claimed in October that crime rates remained flat near the casino, local reporters found a different pattern. ABC news’s “5 Investigates” examined Massachusetts State Police data the last three months of the year and found that there were 208 crimes reported inside the casino. This included 16 robberies, five assaults, and two sexual offenses, adding up to 120 arrests.

This compares to 115 incidents reported the first year of Plainridge Park’s operation, which included the entire 2018.

The 5 Investigates team determined that 22 crimes were reported in the area in the first three months before the casino opened, but 115 in the five months after. Which adds up to a 300 percent increase.

Of course, the MGM Springfield operates in a much larger city and has more visitors than Plainville, where the state’s first casino is located. Also, Springfield had a high crime rate before the casino was built. It has in the past been ranked as the second most dangerous city in the northeast and most dangerous in New England.

Nevertheless, the rise in crime in the immediate area of the casino has set off alarms among some legislators from the area. Studies of the effects of casinos on crime rates have reached different results, but Springfield itself will begin to contribute to those figures since Massachusetts state law has set aside a portion of casino taxes for ongoing studies of the effects of casinos on the state and near host cities.

The studies will track criminal activity, the unemployment rate, property values and other measurements of community well-being, year after year.

In Virginia, Senate Bill 1126, sponsored by state Senator L. Louis Lucas, passed out of the General Laws and Technology Committee in a 9-3-1 vote. The bill, which combines three measures into one, now moves to the Senate Finance Committee for review. The measure would authorize five cities to apply for casino gambling licenses, including Portsmouth, Bristol and Danville, as well as Norfolk and Richmond where casinos would be built by the Pamunkey Indian Tribe.

The cities must meet certain criteria regarding economic need, like high unemployment and poverty levels. Each city would be required to hold a voter referendum to approve a casino before one could operate. The measure also specifies only one license can be issued per city. No casino license could be issued until July 1, 2020, according to the legislation.

In addition, the bill would tax net casino earnings at 10 percent and direct half of the proceeds to host cities and half to the state. One percent of the state’s money would support problem gambling treatment, and half of the remainder would go toward public school construction with the other half put into the general fund.

Governor Ralph Northam has expressed concern that the gambling legislation is being rushed through the legislature. He recommended the state spend $175,000 to conduct an independent study on the economic impact of casinos. An amendment to SB 1126 included such a study, to be completed by November 1—only four days before Virginians vote for all 40 state Senators and 100 state Delegates.

The Pamunkey Tribe previously was pursuing a casino through the Department of the Interior’s federal rules but recently said it would be willing to open a casino under commercial gaming laws to speed up the process.

The Bristol casino would occupy the former Bristol Mall and be financed by United Company Chief Executive Officer Jim McGlothlin and Par Ventures owner Clyde Stacy. McGlothlin said the project will not require government funding and that the area needs a “big, bold” project to compete with neighboring states’ gambling options.

Lucas said casinos offer the most efficient path to economic development for Danville, Portsmouth and Bristol. “We just want to create economic development in these three parts of the state. It’s plain and simple,” she said. Lucas noted in seven years, gambling operations in the three communities could generate a total of nearly $100 million in local revenue and create about 16,000 jobs.

Lawmakers from Bridgeport, Connecticut are renewing their efforts for a commercial casino in the state’s largest city.

The latest bill was introduced by Rep. Ben McGorty, whose district includes Bridgeport. It would require the state to seek proposals for a casino and repeal the monopoly for a third casino that the state granted in 2017 to the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to operate in East Windsor at a defunct cinema off Interstate 91, about 14 miles from Springfield, Massachusetts.

The tribes currently operate Connecticut’s Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun.

The 2017 granted MMCT Venture, LLC, the joint authority of the two tribes, the right to operate a casino in East Windsor as long as the Department of the Interior passed on the amended tribal state gaming compacts that allowed a commercial casino without voiding the exclusivity guarantee of the compacts.

The bill is nearly identical to one that MGM Resorts International pushed last year for $675 million casino in the city. MGM has been a thorn in the side of the state’s gaming tribes, fighting their East Windsor casino at every stage. The bill—minus the provision withdrawing authorization for the tribal casino—passed last year by a vote of 77-73 in the House, but died in the Senate.

The tribes pay the state 25 percent of their profits in exchange for exclusive rights to Las Vegas style gaming. MGM has pointed out that this amount has declined over the years until last year it was $270 million, and says it can more than make it that amount if allowed to operate a commercial casino in Bridgeport.

However, new figures released by the state would indicate that previous predictions of how much MGM was going to affect the bottom line of Foxwoods and The Mohegan Sun may have been overblown.

Last week the General Assembly’s Office of Fiscal Analysis estimated that the casinos’ slots revenue paid to the state would be $248.6 million for fiscal year 2018-2019. That’s $20 million more than the estimate two months ago.

The numbers were revamped because the MGM Springfield has not taken as large a bite from tribal revenues as had been feared. State budget planners had expected as much as a 25 percent drop taking into account the MGM casino and the expected opening of the Encore Boston Harbor in June. Now they are projecting a 9.2 percent hit.

A spokesman for the Office, Chris McClure, told the Day, “What has happened in reality is that Encore has been a little bit delayed. And when MGM came on board, we are still experiencing a decline, it’s just not as severe as we thought.” He added, “I’m not sure we can accurately place where the variable are.” He added, “It’s not as bad as we thought it was going to be. Maybe we were too pessimistic.”

Since the MGM Springfield opened, slots revenues have declined 7.1 percent at Foxwoods and 6.7 percent at the Mohegan since. However, it has not affected attendance at non-gaming activities such as trade shows and concerts.

Foxwoods CEO Rodney Butler in an interview with the Hartford Business Journal observed, “Other than their splash at opening, MGM Springfield haven’t done a lot of entertainment. That might be contributing to their lack of performance on the gaming revenue side.”

The $965 million MGM Springfield has itself failed to meet expectations. It had projected $418 million for its first year, at $34.8 million per month, but has so far grossed less than $23 per month during in October, November and December.

On the other hand Foxwoods’ hotel occupancy is better than 90 percent and ticket sales have been unaffected at Foxwoods’ 4,000-seat Grand Theater.

Last week Foxwoods announced that it had hired retired Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz, aka “Big Papi,” to be an ambassador for the resort. He will appear in upcoming marketing campaigns for the resort, and take part in gaming tournaments and hosted events.

Butler commented, “We are so thrilled to welcome David Ortiz to the Foxwoods team, solidifying a unique partnership between two New England institutions,” adding, “Big Papi knows a thing or two about hitting it big, and we’ve hit the jackpot in adding him to our lineup to engage with guests and elevate the Foxwoods brand in his new role with the organization.”

The Mohegan Sun’s ticket sales at its 10,000-seat arena also appear untouched and its hotels have a more than 95 percent occupancy rate.

Meanwhile, competing bill has been introduced by supporters of the tribes, including Senator Cathy Osten, that would allow the tribes to operate in East Windsor, but without the blessing of the federal government. MGM has so far been able to stall that approval—or at least that is the allegation of the tribes and several Connecticut lawmakers who accuse the Interior Department of being unduly influenced by Nevada lawmakers. MGM is based in that state.

Complicating the politics of these proposals is an apparent effort by the newly installed governor, Ned Lamont, who has asked the tribes to consider developing a casino in Bridgeport.

Mohegan Chairman Kevin Brown told the Day “We’ve had discussion, primarily based on our government-to-government relations. During those discussions, he asked, ‘Would you be interested in looking into Bridgeport?’” Brown added, “There could be other things that involved gaming, betting and the entertainment world. A casino could be in the mix but nothing’s been decided.” Under this proposal, said Brown, MMCT would build and operate the casino.

Kentucky state Reps. Al Gentry and Dennis Keene pre-filed HB 12, which would amend the Kentucky Revised Statues to allow sports betting and authorize the Kentucky Lottery Corporation to regulate it. The measure has been referred to the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee for review. It’s the first sports betting bill introduced in the House; previously one was introduced in the Senate. Currently only betting on horseraces is legal in Kentucky.

HB 12 allows betting on professional and collegiate sports. However, it does not spell out the tax rate, application fees or whether only in-person betting will be permitted; that appears to be the case, with mobile wagering not allowed. Sports betting only would be permitted at “retailers that have a seating capacity of at least 20.”

The bill does not include an integrity fee or royalty to professional leagues, not does it require the use of “official league data.” Revenue would go to the Kentucky Employees Retirement System and the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System, with a portion, not exceeding $2 million, directed to problem gambling awareness.

State Senator Julian Carroll also filed a sports betting bill, calling for a 25 percent tax on net revenue and creating the Kentucky Gaming Commission. Carroll’s bill also would direct sports betting revenue to the state’s struggling pension system.

The legislature is in recess until February 5 and adjourns on March 29.