Caved, shaken down, outfoxed: Take your choice of term as Foxwoods Massachusetts has seemingly capitulated to Milford selectmen and raised its downpayment from $18 million to $34 million. All it took was a few grumblings from the aforementioned selectmen and Foxwoods flung down the most “george” offer in the Boston area — $1,192 per capita, plus a lot of goodies on the back end. Why Foxwoods should be trying to outbid casino projects closer to Boston itself is a question CEO Scott Butera (above) might prefer not to answer.
Foxwoods, of course wants something in return. Gone is the low-profile, 660K-square-foot casino of yore, to be replaced with a 2.8 million-foot megalith. After all, those extra millions have to come somewhere and Milford selectmen may realize they’ve made a Faustian pact: much more money for much more casino. Town chairman William Buckley, whose insistence on “Everett money” got this going now seems to realize he has a dragon by the tail. “I think we’d certainly expect to see a far greater number of visitors,” he said, sounding stunned, “and I’m curious what the impact is moving forward.” You asked for more, sir, and you got more. What did you think would happen? As for the financial risk to Foxwoods, that’s why they pay Butera the big bucks.
Meanwhile out west, citizens of West Springfield are getting the hard sell from Hard Rock International …
… whose lobbying effort may be the best to date. It’s certainly been one of the most intensive.
Like a jockey lugging a horse on its back, non-gaming revenues continue to carry the casino at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Maybe it’s the trend of Vegas Yet To Come (as recent numbers from Hakkasan at MGM Grand also indicate) but it’s a lot to ask of a $3.9 billion casino. CEO John Unwin is reporting a predominantly young customer base and predicting exponential growth in gambling revenues this year. Nah, I didn’t believe it either, save that when you’re starting from practically nothing, any growth looks explosive.
“… there has to be a gambler in there somewhere,” wailed Colliers International’s Josh Smith, sounding like the boy who reasoned that a proliferation of horse manure pointed to the presence of pony. But when you’re posting some of the highest ADRs on the Strip, though (yes, better than The Venetian or Wynn Las Vegas), that’s got to cut into the customer’s gambling budget, too. Smith argues that the amenity-driven Cosmo is influencing new development on the Strip. If so, it will be an expensive mistake that inspired more cost-effective imitators.
