In a preliminary victory for Caesars Entertainment, the vote on its Suffolk Downs racino proposal will be restricted to the East Boston ward. Sentiment is expected to run more heavily pro-Caesars there than in Boston at large. (The company plans a $1 billion casino-hotel with a spectacular view of a tank farm.) It’s in the hands of the voters now.
In more good news for Gary Loveman, the pace of construction on Horseshoe Baltimore has accelerated over the past month. Caesars needs every cash spigot it can open. Fortunately for it, its exposure on the project is only $88 million or so. Sugar daddy Dan Gilbert is picking up most of the $440 million tab — and the revenue.
It would just kill Caesars to fix up the dilapidated exterior of The Rio. But a zipline between the two hotel towers? Bring it on! According to the official release, riders will be paged from the slots or the dining table when their zipline reservation is ready. Personally, I’ve got better things to do than dangle 490 feet off the ground. (It’s a fear-of-heights thing.) But if this is your kind of thrill be warned. The ride only last 70 seconds. At $25-$37 a person (“plus service fees”), you’re going to have a poor thrill-per-second ratio. Couldn’t they at least throw in a free buffet … after the ride, not before it?
