Joseph “Tomato King” Procacci‘s proposed LoSo Entertainment Center, would-be home to Casino Revolution (2,400 slots, 105 tables) has “initiated discussions” with U.S. Thrill Rides about building a 615-foot observation tower as part of the project. That’d be 10 feet taller than the Seattle Space Needle. Aside from the incongruity of the idea, U.S. Thrill Rides has no track record of actually erecting these things. It proposed one for the Tropicana Las Vegas but that turned out to be a one-day story.
“PHL Local‘s officers believe that adding the Skyspire to LoSo and its proposed casino would arguably make their site the city of Philadelphia‘s most popular visitor attraction.” Arguably not. Philly is home to a little thing called the Liberty Bell, after all.
Continues the fluff, “According to Joseph Canfora, president, PHL Local Gaming, the proposed Skyspire addition will consistently generate sufficient visitor traffic, even in a highly competitive casino gaming environment, to ensure that the $428 million casino’s revenue goals are achieved, on an ongoing basis.”
So, in other words, your casino isn’t sure of making ends meet, so you have to bolt an amusement ride onto it. Given the impact of a Space Needle-sized tower on the Philadelphia skyline, methinks this proposal might actually weaken Casino Revolution’s already less-than-strong chances. If Tomato King wants to build an amusement park, why bother with a casino — and vice versa?
* Caesars Entertainment took a slight loss on its sale of the Atlantic Club Hotel. Having purchased the bankrupt old casino for $15 million, it flipped it to Florida hotelier TJM Properties for $13.5 million. That’s quite a comedown from the then-Atlantic City Hilton‘s peak value of $513 million, in 2005. Given the negligible returns, you have to wonder if Caesars’ buy-and-close strategy in Atlantic City has any real potential, especially as players are deserting Caesars properties in favor of such competitors as the Golden Nugget.
* In a worrisome development, casino opponents in Massachusetts have rounded up 26,000 signatures, more than enough to make it onto the November ballot. The state Democratic Party convention provided a bonanza, with over 50% of delegates signing on. While S&G agrees with casino advocate Chris Murphy that the opposition movement is “a petulant little child stomping their foot,” it’s also a force to be reckoned with, polling very strongly statewide. They have the luxury of sitting back and saying “no” without being held accountable for the economic development they’ll forfeit.
* Racing toward the finish, Caesars has laid on additional shifts to finish Horseshoe Casino Baltimore. Demand for the 1,900 jobs is overwhelming (such that the Maryland Lottery & Gaming Control Commission hired extra employees to handle the paperwork) so it’s a little odd to hear Caesars say “about half” would be filled locally, but such is the case. The project has reached the phase where slot machines are being installed, with table games and signage yet to follow. It doesn’t look much from the outside at this point, but that should change shortly.
I don’t think Caesars lost with the Atlantic Club. They got everything but the slots. Food, linens, furniture,supplies, etc. If I was TMJ I’d check if the plumbing was intact!