When the city of Springfield finally stopped fence-sitting and decided against going with Penn National Gaming, I knew it was only a matter of time before Penn emerged somewhere else in Massachusetts. Boy, has it ever. Operating with speed and stealth, it has executed a host-community agreement with tiny Tewksbury (yeah, I had to look it up on a map, too) for a $200 million slot parlor. That — and the promise of $4 million a year — got the Tewksbury selectmen’s unanimous assent. If Penn can pay the town four mil a year, why is Hard Rock International being such a stiff toward West Springfield and neighboring towns? After all, Hard Rock will only be paying 25% in taxes, compared to the 40% impost that Penn is facing. (Hard Rock’s main man in Springfield, Tim Maland, has come way the hell up in the world from Tropicana Entertainment‘s Montbleu casino on Lake Tahoe‘s shores.)
Burghers in nearby Andover are already throwing up their Pilgrim hands in horror. But, meaning no disrespect to wannabe rivals Cordish Gaming and Rush Street Gaming or two parimutuels, Penn’s arrival puts an 800-pound gorilla into the slot-parlor cage match. It certainly gives citizens of Plainville added incentive to vote “yes” on Sept. 10 when Plainridge Racecourse‘s racino plan goes to the electorate. If nothing else, an “aye” vote is a poke in the eye to hoity-toity Foxborough, which is butting into Plainville’s affairs. “We would greatly appreciate your consideration of these impacts as your plans for the proposed casino progress,” huffed a Foxborough selectman. (Remember, these are the guys who thought Steve Wynn was beneath them.)
What’s more, if Penn wins, it will be the first operator to open in the Bay State, potentially skunking Wynn Resorts and similarly distinguished companies, like Foxwoods Massachusetts, still having to allay concerns about the environmental and infrastructural impact of its rural casino project, which will push Milford‘s water usage considerably higher, near the maximum allotment. Sewage alone will increase 68% and Foxwoods (pictured) will have to lay pipe — at its own expense. No wonder this is a $1 billion project.
No country for old women. If Sheldon Adelson doesn’t succeed in Spain, there’s always Cyprus, where the new government is shopping for a casino. That’s quite a turnaround for a country that was busting 98-year-old women for playing cards, thanks to the recently departed Communist regime.
