Publicizing revenue expectations is a dangerous thing. Just ask the four new casinos in upstate New York. Or Bruce Deifik in Atlantic City. When you don’t make your number (the dreaded Penn National Effect) it opens you up for no end of second-
guessing. At any rate, even if Connecticut doesn’t get that third, satellite casino near Hartford it may not have much to fear from MGM Springfield. Although foot traffic at the new megaresort 
surpassed MGM’s expectations, gambling revenues were a different story. MGM’s target for Year One is $418 million. During its first full month of operation it grossed just a hair under $27 million, putting it on pace for $324 million, a huge disappointment by any reckoning. As CalvinAyre.com noted, this stands in stark contrast to the $42 million generated by MGM National Harbor in its first month.
Between microscopic ROI at MGM Cotai and now this, MGM Resorts International is having a run of bad luck. Surely MGM Springfield’s no-smoking policy can’t be responsible for the shortfall. Is the greater Hartford area simply not wealthy enough to sustain a $960 million mega-casino? 
MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis was quick to reverse field and claim that the numbers were “on track” with the company’s expectations. However, once the novelty factor wears off, where’s all that additional business to come from?
Across the state, there was a small dip in business at Plainridge Park but we would hardly attribute that to customers deserting it for MGM Springfield. We suspect new, improved competition in Rhode Island has more to do with it. As for MGM, it’s time for the marketing machine to go into overdrive.
* Derek Stevens is now the only holdout in Las Vegas against the Culinary Union. Earlier this week Phil Ruffin reached a tentative deal with the local, covering 1,500 Treasure Island 
employees. It’s not clear why the talks dragged on as long as they did but Ruffin has always been a maverick among casino owners. The Culinary, speaking generically, said its new contracts were “the strongest economic package ever negotiated with the highest wage increases and healthcare and pension benefits for workers.” They also included as-yet-undisclosed protections for immigrants and victims of sexual harassment. Our congratulations to the union and Ruffin.
* Crackdowns on poor problem-gambling prevention continue in the United Kingdom. The latest company made to go sit in the corner is Paddy Power Betfair, which was fined $2.9 million for “social responsibility and money laundering failures.” In the latter instance, Paddy Power was found to be insufficiently vigilant 
against money launderers who were using its site. Said Gambling Commission Executive Director Richard Watson, “As a result of Paddy Power Betfair’s failings significant amounts of stolen money flowed through their exchange and this is simply not acceptable. Operators have a duty to all of their customers to seek to prevent the proceeds of crime from being used in gambling.”
As for disordered gambling, the company was dinged for not interacting sufficiently with punters who showed signs of pathological gambling. The misdeeds date back to 2016. While admitting fault, Paddy Power said it has improved its safeguards in the last two years. Most of the fines it is paying will go to GambleAware, a charity that provides problem-gambling treatment. Confessed CEO Peter Jackson, “We have a responsibility to intervene when our customers show signs of problem gambling. In these five cases our interventions were not effective and we are very sorry that this occurred.”
A much smaller fine (94K pounds sterling) was levied on bookmaker Mark Jarvis for letting a widow gamble her money away, spending literally tens of thousands of pounds at betting shops where she was known by sight. She even stole $15,000-plus from her employer to fuel her habit, brought on by her husband’s death. We hope she’s getting the help she needs.
