Once again revenues at the Plainridge Park slots parlor in Plainville, Massachusetts have declined from the month before.
Revenues for the Bay State’s first casino to open totaled $11.3 million in December, compared to $11.9 million for November. Revenues at the casino have been in a long slide since July, the month after it opened, when revenues were $18.1 million.
The $250 million facility has so far earned $88 million, and paid the state $43 million. The casino was projected to make $200 million in its first year.
Penn National Gaming, which operates the casino, issued a statement last week from CEO Tim Wilmott: “As the owner and operator of Plainridge Park Casino, we are disappointed by the seemingly endless critical commentary on our property’s performance since its opening less than a year ago.”
Wilmott added, “While it is quite common in our industry to see a drop in business following a robust opening, the average revenue generated by our slot machines at Plainridge Park still ranks the highest among our company’s 27 facilities, and on a win-per-device basis, our slot machines in Plainville outperform every casino on the Las Vegas Strip.”
MGM Springfield
The outside consultant the city of Springfield hired to evaluate the project changes proposed by MGM Springfield for the $950 million casino resort supported the changes, an opinion that the city’s planning department staff seconded.
Those unpopular changes include replacing the original 25-story hotel tower with a six-story hotel that has the same number of rooms— located on Main Street.
The consultant, Chicago Consultants Studio, Inc. told the city that the changes would be beneficial to the city and would “”in no way reduces the visual excitement of the project nor the level of quality or attractiveness of the hotel.”
It said that although MGM was reducing the total square footage that it had increased the number of retail and food and beverage venues.
CCS called the changes “a better resolution than the original design and in no way reduces the visual excitement of the project nor the level of quality or attractiveness of the hotel.”
The consultant also endorsed moving the market rate housing from the original location within the casino resort footprint to other locations within the city, calling it “an exciting opportunity to truly leverage the new housing for its intended purpose.”
The planning department said it “firmly believes that the proposed development will have a beneficial impact on not only this area but on the city as a whole.”
The city council held hearings on the changes on January 19-20, and plans to hold a total of four hearings, concluding on January 26
Council President Michael Fenton declared, “I am confident that this schedule will allow the Council to conduct thoughtful deliberations and arrive at a fair conclusion regarding MGM’s proposed changes.” He added, “I am really looking forward to this. These meetings have been a long time coming and I am glad we now have the information we need from MGM and the administration in order to conduct these hearings.”
At the first hearing the review was limited to design issues include site layout, landscaping, signage, lighting and overall character. Prior to the hearing some council members took a tour of the three-block site in the city’s South End.
At the end of the bus tour where most stayed inside due to the cold weather, Fenton said, “It was really productive. I think it provided us with some good background in terms of seeing first-hand the surrounding uses and the impact this project will have on them.”
It included testimony by MGM Springfield and its consultants and a presentation by the city’s consultants and officials.
MGM reiterated that the examples of reduced square footage included areas that the public does not visit.
Public comment came on the second day of hearings. Of 16 speakers, 12 spoke positively about the project, while four had concerns. Supporters included the South End Citizens Council, the South End Business Association, labor groups, and the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Leo Florian, president of the South End Citizens Council noted that MGM has worked closely with his group. “The overall response was support for the changes that were made both from the residents and the businesses. We’re hoping that you agree tonight with this, get the construction workers out there working, get those jobs for the people in the city that need it and we hope everything works out.”
Tony Calabrese of the South End Business Association said the new design “will only help revitalize the neighborhood.”
Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Convention and Visitors Bureau said, “We need a four-star hotel, we need a spa, we need entertainment and high-end dining and retail in our downtown to compete for more group business.”
Former city councilmember William Foley added, “MGM has been examined and re-examined and found to be an excellent company. It will make the future of Springfield much stronger and more secure.”
One of those voicing skepticism about the changes was Aimee Loiselle, who said, “I know many local people concerned about MGM’s proposed changes, which are a major reduction in the appearance and size and a relocation of the project’s parts.” She criticized MGM for what she called a lack of transparency and said the company’s promises are “up in the air.”
MGM countered that its promises to the city are part of the Host Community Agreement, which are enforceable.
At the end of the first round of hearings Fenton complimented the number of people who showed up and said, “I think we heard from a diversity of perspectives, pro and con, and that’s the purpose of these hearings,” He added, “We are going to continue our deliberations, hear more from the public and hopefully get some commentary and questions from the councilors.”
Wynn Everett
Wynn Resorts Ltd. has hired Boston-based Suffolk Construction Co. the state’s largest construction company, to build the Wynn Everett Casino in a $1 billion contract, one of the largest private construction projects in the history of the Bay State.
Wynn went through a dozen construction companies before settling on the finalist. One of the major factors in winning the contract was the contractor’s promise to be detail-oriented and to meet its timeline: an opening of the end of 2018.
The $1.7 billion resort will have a 24-story luxury hotel with 600 plus rooms, a casino, spa, dining convention spaces, for a total of 3 million square feet on 33 acres.
Wynn Senior Vice President Robert DeSalvio declared, “Building a five-star resort that meets the Wynn quality standards requires an attention to detail that is unwavering.” He added, “Suffolk Construction shares our values and is working with us full speed to meet our ground-breaking target.”
Suffolk CEO John F. Fish called the project, “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” and added, “To me, it is the crown jewel of our portfolio.” Before winning the contract Fish flew to Las Vegas to meet Steve Wynn and later commented, “This business is all about relationships, and I had never met Steve Wynn. We were hoping to be considered for a project in our own backyard.”
Suffolk was involved in the rival casino proposal that was proposed for Suffolk Downs, before Wynn won the license for the Boston Metro casino zone.
Wynn has begun environmental clean up of the project along the Mystic River and is expecting to break ground in a few months.
The project is expected to generate 4,000 construction jobs and another 4,000 permanent casino jobs.
Indian Gaming
The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, which hopes to build the $500 million Project First Light in Taunton, last signed an agreement with the town of Mashpee on Martha’s Vineyard to provide police and fire for the tribe’s reservation land on the island.
The tribe recently signed a mutual aid agreement with the city of Taunton for its sovereign land in that community.
The tribe recently celebrated the Bureau of Indian Affairs action putting the two parcels of land, totaling more than 300 acres into trust.
Chief Vernon “Silent Drumm” Lopez, a veteran of the WWII Battle of Normandy, said he worked for decades to get federal recognition for the tribe. He told CapeCode.com: “From there on we’ve been working pretty steadily with the tribe and the federal government and pretty much anyone who would listen to us to finally come to this day when we could raise our flag,” he said. “It’s a great moment for me.”
