If there’s anything to be learned from this week’s Hard Rock International face-plant in West Springfield, it’s not to take anything for granted. HRI made the mistake of believing its own poll, indeed, venerating it like holy writ, and got a rude surprise last Tuesday. Evidently determined not to make the same mistake, somebody — OK, Michael Kaplan — is launching a grass roots, pro-casino campaign in Milford. “The more I speak to people, the more I’ve found there is overwhelming support for the casino,” said Kaplan, who supports Foxwoods Massachusetts. He somewhat contradicts himself by saying, “I’m afraid of people making their decision on this with misinformation and the scare tactics of the anti-casino folks. We need people to look at the hard facts.” But he’s right that it’s an irrevocable mistake if Milford gives Foxwoods the thumbs-down.
The truest predictor of the Nov. 19 vote in Milford (and of similar plebiscites elsewhere) is community income. According to a story in today’s Boston Globe, casinos have been hounded out of eight towns with a median household income of $75,000. They’ve been welcomed in five cities and towns where the median was $55,500. If people are living well in Milford, Kaplan’s got a tough job ahead of him.
In case you hadn’t heard, KG Urban is still plugging away, trying to bring a casino to New Bedford, in the face of indifference from its mayor. But most of its energy is going into going into fighting the special deal carved out for the Mashpee Wampanoags. Since the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has lost patience with the Wampanoags, KG Urban might as well reconcile itself to the likely, eventual reality of three taxpaying casinos and a potential, fourth, tax-exempt tribal one, at least if Gov. Deval Patrick‘s latest compact is upheld and many other long-shot scenarios come through.
Where did three-time Olympic medalist Courtney Cox think she was when she went for a nude swim in front of Bossier City‘s Horseshoe Casino & Hotel … in Las Vegas?
Judging by the blogosphere this week, Vegas really has reinvented itself as a gourmand’s destination. One writer is the first I’ve ever seen to rate Aria‘s buffet as one of the best in town (along with oft-praised Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace). Sunset and I are a bit more on the same page, with considerable overlap between its honor roll and my own USA Today guides, which I just updated again yesterday. With so many tasty (and often expensive) alternatives on offer, it’s no wonder that tourists’ gambling budgets have shrunk.
