Suffolk Downs Boston Casino Vote Could Be Photo Finish

This throat and neck finish at Suffolk Downs Boston-area racetrack is symbolic of how their casino vote is unfolding. (Image source: Boston World)

These days: can the Red Sox win their third World Series title in 10 years in the city of Boston, there’s just one issue keeping city residents up at night? But while David Ortiz as well as the remaining portion of the Sox are busy battling the St. Louis Cardinals for baseball bragging rights, there’s another battle brewing under the surface also it could possibly be just as contentious as the obstruction ruling that finished Game 3.

Bugles Playing ‘First Call’

Both supporters and opponents associated with plan to build a casino in East Boston are ramping up their efforts to get the vote out in the last days before the November 5th election, as both sides are anticipating a close race that could drop to voter turnout. The casino, which would be placed at Suffolk Downs, became a hotly debated issue in churches, on road corners, and even among applicants for mayor.

Anti-casino forces feel like they’re seeing some possible for a noticeable modification by means of the vote though that may be either positive or negative. The exit of Caesars Entertainment being a partner for Suffolk Downs in the casino bid recently has thrown the race into chaos, as it has confused voters over whether or not they wish to support the program.

That confusion has shown up in the polling of an organization referred to as close Friends of East Boston, which opposes the casino task. According to lead organizer Pedro Morales, the group does phone polling of 1,200 to 1,500 East Boston residents every day. Before the news about Caesars departure from the project, about 10 % of residents were nevertheless undecided about whether or not to support the Suffolk Downs bid. Now, that number is within the array of 22 percent to 24 percent every day.

‘Last night, one precinct went from 22 percent to 37 percent,’ Morales told the Boston Herald. ‘I’m perhaps not saying at all that that’s immediately to our benefit. They could effortlessly say they are waiting to see who the brand new partner is. The least that can be said is that doubt has definitely been introduced.’

Neck and Neck Towards the Finish Line

In accordance with Morales, their polling indicates that about 40 percent are for the casino bid, with another 40 % opposing it. Suffolk Downs says that they don’t see precisely the same numbers, and they believe undecided voters is won over by hearing the information on their proposal.

But regardless of the numbers that are exact have, both edges plainly feel the issue wasn’t decided yet and meaning a great amount of efforts to get voters on their respective sides into the final days before the election.

‘We’re doing some door-to-door canvassing, we’re providing rides to the polls and we’ve been ID’ing supports along the means,’ said Suffolk Downs COO Chip Tuttle. According to Tuttle, hundreds of volunteer casino supporters are going to be canvassing on their behalf within the last week before Election Day, planning to go to a large number of voters and promote the virtues associated with casino want to them.

Opponents for the casino bid won’t be sitting on the fingers, either. They’ve set up a base camp at a community church, where religious leaders and other people within the community will work together to oppose the efforts of Suffolk Downs.

‘It’s really, really simple,’ Morales stated. ‘If you adore your community, your household, your churches, the casino can’t be good for you.’

New York Casino Expansion Could Prompt North Jersey Casino

If voters give a thumbs up to New York State casino expansion, will North Jersey be next to construct? (Image source: WCBS 880)

The battle for the northeastern casino market has turned into an arms race between the states in a lot of ways. And which means that after one neighbor unveils a weapon that is new it’s only a matter of the time before another answers in type. That’s why there’s now a great deal of conjecture that the round that is latest of casino expansion planned for ny could ultimately lead to a completely new casino in North Jersey, as New Jersey continues to keep their shrinking share for the regional casino market in that area.

The threat that is new of in ny has not materialized yet and it may never take place at all. New Yorkers are going to the polls on Election in November to decide whether or not to approve the building of new, ‘Las Vegas-style’ casino resorts in upstate New York day. But passage appears at least reasonably most likely, which could add yet more competition that is regional the mix.

One Upsmanship But Could It Be Working?

And should more casinos be added in other states, it is likely that nj-new Jersey would see that as an invitation to add a new casino of the own. An area in northeast New Jersey that is already the site of the Meadowlands Sports Complex: home to the Meadowlands Racetrack, MetLife Stadium (which houses the New York Jets and the New York Giants), and the Izod Center, which formerly hosted the New Jersey Nets (which have since become the Brooklyn Nets) and the New Jersey Devils hockey team in particular, politicians and industry insiders are imagining the possibility of a casino in the Meadowlands.

Are you still with us?

According to some in North Jersey, the state is losing a lot of possible revenue by not having a casino in that region of the state. A good amount of gamblers, they say, are headed to the Empire Casino in Yonkers, NY or nearby Pennsylvania casinos in Bethlehem plus the Poconos. These areas are a complete lot more convenient to access for many nj-new Jersey residents than the casinos in their own personal state.

‘Do you might think folks from northern New Jersey are getting to drive all the way to Atlantic City when they wish to play the slots for a few hours?’ asked Jeffrey Gural, operator of the Meadowlands racetrack. ‘Gas is $4 a gallon. I am told by you.’

But while the danger of more regional casinos may function as the spark that finally pushes the state to you should think about a Meadowlands casino, the concept has experienced the works for a whilst. And in reality, the battle that is biggest may be the one between Atlantic City and North Jersey. Many Atlantic City officials fear that a new casino in northern New Jersey will be the death knell for the town’s already land gaming industry that is flailing.

Atlantic City Revival Nevertheless Needs A arrive at Jesus

The revival of Atlantic City has been a major policy point for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who states he doesn’t want any new casinos to be built outside of the town at least until his five-year plan for revitalizing the casino industry there was offered the opportunity to work. While that effort may well not have had quite the results Christie was hoping for therefore far, losses have actually at the least slowed in Atlantic City and also the governor’s office says that he’d have followed similar plan even if he had known ny was about to build new gambling enterprises.

‘[The plan to build new gambling enterprises in New York] doesn’t change that we set out at the start of the administration to offer Atlantic City the most readily useful opportunity we can to maintain or grow our existence in the competitive casino market,’ stated Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the governor.

LAND CASINO SATURATION IN AMERICA:

Across the usa, gaming analysts warn that the brick-and-mortar casino industry is nearing its saturation point. A Fitch gaming analyst, told Bloomberg News that land-based gaming was ‘close’ to this level already, and University slotsforfun-ca.com of Nevada, Reno professor Mark Nichols concurred, saying ‘…everybody is pretty much the same and everybody is on the same playing field in early 2013, Alex Bumazhny. Then it just comes down to location.’

With Atlantic City’s land gaming revenues down a whopping 50 percent since neighboring Pennsylvania opened its casino doors in 2006, and with even newer gambling enterprises in Illinois and Maryland struggling to meet up with profit goals, it’s hard to argue using this obvious new reality.

Several states are now looking to burgeoning appropriate and regulated online state-by-state gambling to pick up the slack. With Nevada already offering online poker, and Delaware and brand new Jersey perched to offer complete casino games before year’s end, the gambling industry as well as state coffers in the united states will certainly be waiting and watching to see how this new aspect plays out.

Las Las Vegas Sands 3rd Quarter Macau Profits Shine In Comparison To Las Vegas

It is all about Macau: Las vegas, nevada Sands Corp.’s 3rd quarter profits were soaring into the Asian gambling mecca.

Location, location, location: that’s whatever they always say in real-estate. And for Las vegas, nevada Sands Corp., that is appearing entirely true, even if, ironically, it’s Macau, not nevada, that’s turning out to be the casino company’s shining star.

‘(Las Las Vegas Sands) remains predominantly A asia secular-driven story,’ noted Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon following the Sands’ third quarter P & L statement. ‘In our view, Las Vegas Sands continues to be the most readily useful Asian gaming growth and income investment story.’

Macau Carries the Day

Despite a so-so performance through the Sands’ shnazzy nevada Strip properties, the Venetian and also the Palazzo, analysts are still gung-ho on Las Vegas Sands’ overall monetary outlook.

‘We continue steadily to like the Macau video gaming sector total, driven by attractive marketwide revenue growth, especially in the mass gaming segment,’ added JP Morgan video gaming analyst Joe Greff. ‘Las Vegas Sands’ accommodation base should allow [the company] to grow line that is top [cash flows] in excess of the marketplace participants.’

Seems the gaming that is bully in Macau is still growing at a steroidal rate; some analysts expect the end-of-October figures to exceed any single-month revenue records up to now. Therefore the July September 2013 quarter showed a 43 percent boost in Sands’ four primary Macau video gaming divisions, and a staggering 89 percent bump from the same time frame period year that is last. With $2.34 billion in net revenues from their Macau properties for the 3rd quarter, it results in a whopping 65 % of the business’s overall intake of $3.57 billion.

No wonder Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson is pouring more development money into another project there; he’s $2.7 billion earmarked for a new 3,000-room property that has a Parisian theme and a 2015 expected opening. That could make five major casinos there ( and why not if they’re making money hand over fist): the Venetian Macau, Four Seasons Macau, Sands Macau, and the multiple-hotel Sands Cotai Central project, combined with the resort that is new planned.

Non-Gambling Profits Also Doing Well

And it’s not just gaming that’s going gangbusters for Sands in Asia; non-gaming revenues are pulling their weight as well, based on Rob Goldstein, the company’s president of global gaming operations.

‘With our room base, that’s a very thing that is positive us,’ Goldstein said, referring to the trend of mainland Chinese tourists coming to and staying in Macau. ‘They stay much longer, come from further away and require sleeping rooms. So Sheldon’s (Adelson) 9,000 sleeping rooms in Cotai turned out to be a pretty good idea.’

Susquehanna International Group gaming analyst Rachael Rothman agrees, incorporating that the influx that is growing of to Macau highlights ‘…the importance of the infrastructure build-out in greater China that continues to increase Macau’s reach.’

Adelson are going to be the major contributor to that much-needed infrastructure, with a $10 billion Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge slated to open in 2016. The bridge will greatly lessen the drive time it takes for people to reach Macau from Asia, which, as anyone whom has ever sat in traffic knows, is often a thing that is good.

Sands’ Macau success has analysts chomping to see what the casino business will do when and if Japan legalizes gambling also. Sands president Michael Leven says that Asian nation’s $6 billion a casino market would match what’s happening on the las vegas strip, but macau’s $38 billion take in 2012 will be hard to top, especially as those figures are up another 17 percent as of end of third quarter 2013 year.