Never accuse Neil Bluhm of thinking small. His Mass Gaming & Entertainment has published some eye-popping projections as part of a 200-page casino application to the State of 
Massachusetts. Despite nearby competition from Plainridge and Rhode Island, Bluhm is projecting four million customers a year and an average of $400 million in revenue (plus $60 million a year in non-gaming dollars) for his $677 million project. It will be a red-brick structure reflecting “conservative New England architecture,” containing 2,100 slot machines and nearly 125 table games. The amenities will include a 250-room hotel.
Bluhm predicts a 1,400-man construction workforce and a casino workforce of 1,500. A strategic location between Boston and Cape Cod is supposed to be the magic ingredient that makes these very aggressive numbers pan out. Mind you, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is in no hurry to hand out a license for the area and has made no secret that it may well exercise its prerogative to issue no license. The MGC seems to be playing for time, waiting to see whether the Mashantucket Pequots can pull a rabbit out of their hat.
Bluhm scolded the MGC that it was taking a “significant risk” by pinning its hopes on a Taunton tribal casinos that could tied up for years in the court system. “You are taking a big risk that you’ll never 
have a tribal casino, and you will have crushed Brockton that needs this desperately,” he said, adding (dismissing?) the Mashpee Wampanoag projection that Brockton could easily absorb: “And if this tribal casino, if it’s ultimately determined that they can open, it’s going to be successful … The question is, would a sound businessman want to risk that kind of money in light of the potential reversal of this case? You might say, initially I will, but once you get down to it, would you really do it? But one thing I think is absolutely clear, a lender is not going to take this kind of risk. This would require 100 percent equity or a guarantee. And this is a binary decision. If courts hold you can’t have a casino here, there will be no casino. And all of that money is going to be lost.”
Bluhm also introduced a lawyer from the firm of Nixon Peabody, who contended that the land-in-trust award to the Wampanoags was “unprecedented” under Carcieri v. Salazar. That Supreme Court ruling confines land-in-trust awards to tribes recognized by the federal government by 1934 and no later. A “Carcieri fix” having failed in Congress, will the Interior Department reinterpret judicial precedent on its own?
* Emissaries of DraftKings and FanDuel will be on hand for a Monday hearing of New Jersey‘s Assembly Tourism & Gaming Committee, the topic being whether fantasy sports should be added to the list of wagering activities that are regulated in the Garden State. Said state Sen. James Whelan (D), who’s the moving force behind the pro-regulation push, “We’re not banning it. But as of now, there’s no oversight.” You can say that again.
* Despite a 3% falloff in foot traffic, gamblers spent 5% more apiece in Illinois casinos, which posted a 2% revenue gain. Two percent increases at Penn National Gaming franchises Hollywood Aurora 
and Empress Joliet negated a 5% dropoff at Argosy Belle. Caesars Entertainment was also up 2% for the month, driven by an 18% surge at Harrah’s Metropolis, salvaging a -5% month at Harrah’s Joliet. Illinois’ casinos appear to be suffering a midlife crisis, seeing as the biggest increase (Metropolis) and by far the greatest revenue haul (Rivers Casino‘s $38 million, op 5%) were at the two newest properties in the state.
Gaming & Leisure Properties‘ Casino Queen continues to look like a bad acquisition, down 7%, while Boyd Gaming had another mildly depressive month at Par-A-Dice, down 2%. Jumer’s Casino Rock Island was up 3%, as was MGM Resorts International‘s Grand Victoria. Given the competition that casinos have had to withstand from slot routes in the Land of Lincoln, I’d say there’s room for cautious optimism.
