City fathers in Palmer, Massachusetts, have had a sudden falling-out with Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority. They’ve accused Mohegan Sun of deliberately tanking the Nov. 5 election through “a deliberate pattern of delay 
and mismanagement.” As such, they’ll be joining the raft of groups trying to block a new Mohegan Sun/Suffolk Downs alliance in Revere. The deal Mohegan Sun has cut with Revere is sweet: $33 million down, $25 million-$30 million per year. It’s difficult to imagine the supportive Revere electorate suddenly executing a volte-face and rejecting such terms.
The new casino will have 4,000 slots, 100 table games and poker. That is, if the Massachusetts Gaming Commission approves it. Mohegan Sun is still a long haul from persuading the state that it would be a better bet than Steve Wynn, over in Everett. First things first, they’ve got to be very careful in how the language for their February referendum in Revere is drafted, so that that there’s no possible way that Boston can call itself a “host community” and potentially kill the project outright.
It’s a bleak Christmas for employees of the Atlantic Club Hotel, soon to 
be out of jobs. It turns out that the joint Tropicana Entertainment/Caesars Entertainment bid wasn’t the highest one on the table. The bankruptcy court also fielded a $24 million offer from Sobe Holdings, which would have run the Atlantic Club purely as a hotel. Sobe “was not selected after a bank involved in the auction raised questions about Sobe’s ability to close a sale, attorneys said.” Oh, snap! It’s a sad day when your finances are deemed inferior to those of Caesars. Sobe did try to drag Caesars’ “financial conditions and debt covenants” into the argument but the court wasn’t having any of that.
Meanwhile, David Cordish is making loud noises about being interested in getting into the Atlantic City market (now with 100% more Internet gambling!). While Revel Resort seems the obvious target, it’s in talks with Hard Rock International. However, the Golden Nugget is believed to be in play and there’s always long-on-the-market Trump Plaza. Which is to say that Cordish is walking into a buyer’s market.
Ever wonder what happens to casino tax money after it’s been banked? Here’s an excellent breakdown of how they do it in Indiana. (Think “I’m a bill on Capitol Hill.”)
