Although it enjoys consistently higher slot revenues than competitor Foxwoods, Connecticut's Mohegan Sun casino resort has been consistently down in terms of slot revenue. A five-month tracking period analyzed by the Boston Globe finds Mohegan Sun declining both in terms of actual dollars and year-over-year comparisons. By contrast, Foxwoods' slot revenues are more spasmodic, ahead of prior-year figures some months, behind in others. (Neither casino is required to report table game revenue to the state.)

Beyond Connecticut, the Twin River VLT facility in neighboring Rhode Island imposed an economy regimen after per-machine revenues fell 6% in the last quarter. Both UNR's William Eadington and the University of Connecticut's Arthur Wright say the New England market has either reached its saturation point or soon will. Not to mention that people are gambling less nationwide. (But if you say the word "recession" the terrorists have won.)

This grim data, however, does not deter Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick from plowing forward with a possibly foolhardy plan for three Bay State casinos. Why foolhardy? Well, Patrick's reliant on outdated revenue projections that -- in order to work -- would now require Massachusetts slots to outperform their Connecticut counterparts with fewer machines. And even a Las Vegas Sands consultant says Patrick's construction-jobs projection is way off the mark (by about 9,000 jobs).

On t'other hand, both Sands and Harrah's Entertainment seem willing to entertain a 27% taxation rate to get in on that Massachusetts action. That's worth keeping in mind if Sheldon Adelson or Gary Loveman start to inveigh against the disastrous impact of a 9.75% privilege tax rate in Nevada.

MGM Grand Detroit a smash. Okay, so I went there (for Northwest Airlines' in-flight magazine), loved what I saw and got treated like a king. So discount that.

But there's no discounting a 28% jolt to Detroit's casino economy, thanks to the swanky new place down the road from Tiger Stadium. It also took a small bite out of Motor City (whose upgrade still isn't fully online) and smoke-ridden Greektown.

MGM also saved a bundle ... not from switching its car insurance to Geico but by building a permanent casino-hotel, earning it a substantial tax break  (Motor City can expect a similarly large 'thank you').

Greektown, meanwhile, is in a bind. To build a new casino it would have to move away from the very neighborhood -- with its lively restaurant row -- it was built to save. Then again, so long as it stays in its idiosyncratic, Stanley Ho-worthy "temporary," it can expect to keep losing market share. It's an unenviable dilemma.