Due to Boston Mayor Martin Walsh‘s refusal to go to arbitration with Wynn Resorts, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission finds itself in 
an unexpected role. It’s mulling other surrounding-community agreements from around the state and trying to measure the economic impact of a Steve Wynn casino on Boston. The irascible Walsh is playing a high-risk game here: The commission could decide that he’s opted out of surrounding-community status, in which case Boston won’t get beans from Wynn. It probably won’t come to that but it’s a real possibility.
* Caught between the hammer of Resorts World New York and the anvil of Twin River Casino in Rhode Island, the tribal casinos of Connecticut had another rough go of it last month. Slot handle was down 5% at Foxwoods Resort Casino and revenue was off 13% (which implies players were taking Foxwoods to the cleaners).
Drop and revenue were down 10% alike at Mohegan Sun (above). The latter’s CEO, Robert J. Soper, tried to put the best face on it, blaming “continued softness not only in this market but in most mature gaming markets throughout the industry.” Mohegan Sun was, he announced, “clearly focused on profitability.” Well, we certainly hope so.
* Taking a convincingly contrarian point of view, Prof. David G. Schwartz argues that if “online gaming in the U.S. is to have a future, it may be best for a ‘slow’ rollout that’s unmarked by either sky-high revenues or major compliance issues.” He points out that, in the United Kingdom, online play grew incrementally, from 9% of all player losses in 2009 to 16% last year. “For decades, slot play was a small part of total casino win,” Schwartz writes of our reluctance to adopt new technologies. “Eventually, though, slots came to dominate American gaming.”
Las Vegas has a larger population than the entire state of Delaware, so perhaps it’s no surprise that the latter’s online-poker gross to date ($935,000) is only slightly more than what Nevada generated in March alone. Significantly higher grosses in New Jersey (“an online titan”) can be partially attributed to the wider range of games available. “Three states have enacted regulatory controls that have allowed players to bet online with no major snafus,” Schwartz concludes. “That’s not a headline-grabber, but that’s the whole point of regulation.”
* Bravo to MGM Resorts International for providing special job fairs for military veterans and their families. Theirs is a part of American society for which not enough is done, so MGM is to be applauded for reaching out and doing its part.
