{"id":22340,"date":"2018-08-27T10:02:42","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T18:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=22340"},"modified":"2018-08-27T10:02:42","modified_gmt":"2018-08-27T18:02:42","slug":"mgm-springfield-impresses-the-case-of-the-disappearing-chairman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/mgm-springfield-impresses-the-case-of-the-disappearing-chairman\/","title":{"rendered":"MGM Springfield impresses; The case of the disappearing chairman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.multivu.com\/players\/English\/8381451-mgm-springfield-casino-opening\/embed_gallery.html?uuid=0b9fa103-9bf4-412c-b089-b092eecea8b3\" width=\"450px\" height=\"253px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It seems <strong>Springfield<\/strong> has a tornado to thank for <strong>MGM Resorts International<\/strong>&#8216;s interest in the city, the beginning of <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/4c2215549b554e07af3e57cb40e2559d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a seven-year quest<\/a> that climaxed with the <strong>Budweiser Clydesdales<\/strong> leading a parade to the new megaresort. CEO <strong>Jim Murren<\/strong> was window-shopping the <strong>Boston<\/strong> market when he made a visit to post-tempest Springfield.\u00a0\u201cI admit, I lost all interest in Boston at that point. And I thought I better see whether I can help this city,\u201d he told the <em>Worcester Times<\/em>. The result, according to the <em>Boston Globe<\/em>&#8216;s <strong>Mark Arsenault<\/strong> is\u00a0\u201cIt looks like no casino you\u2019ve ever seen, as un-Vegas as Springfield itself. And that is exactly the idea.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mvZMmkL5c9w\" width=\"450\" height=\"253\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Murren described his vision as follows:\u00a0\u201cTravelers seeking authentic, local experiences are rediscovering small cities across <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-20215\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/murren.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"223\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/murren.jpg 197w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/murren-133x150.jpg 133w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/>the U.S. that fuse small-town charm with the allure of big-city culture.\u00a0With a 375-year legacy as a major crossroads of <strong>New England<\/strong>, Springfield is poised to join the likes of such hidden gems with the development of MGM Springfield leading a fresh wave of rediscovery in The City of Firsts.\u201d (In the official press release, gambling only gets two lines, compared to six for dining and seven for art.)<\/p>\n<p>As for MGM&#8217;s business plan for Springfield,\u00a0it&#8217;s tantamount to\u00a0&#8216;build it and they will come.&#8217; Said casino prexy\u00a0<!--more--><strong>Michael Mathis<\/strong>,\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ve got a really robust database with hundreds of thousands of customers that are loyal to us in Vegas and other markets, and we believed if we put a flagship here in western New England, we would be able to generate visitation from those existing customers as well as find new customers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KFXx-7m2SJY\" width=\"450\" height=\"253\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Each room is unique,&#8221; <em>Global Gaming Business<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/ggbnews.com\/article\/mgm-springfield-opens-first-massachusetts-casino\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">says of the boutique hotel<\/a>. &#8220;For example, one of the priciest rooms is devoted to a celebration of the author <strong>Dr. Seuss<\/strong>, and includes a chandelier made up of hats. Large antique <strong>Merriam-Webster<\/strong> <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-13343\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/MGM-Springfield-painting-300x221.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"221\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/MGM-Springfield-painting-300x221.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/MGM-Springfield-painting-150x110.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/MGM-Springfield-painting.jpg 934w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>dictionaries (published in Springfield, of course) can be found on stands.&#8221; So you&#8217;ll never at loss for superlatives when visiting MGM Springfield. While the elimination of the planned hotel tower (<em>shown<\/em>) radically changed the look of the project, construction costs nevertheless swelled from $800 million to $960 million, in part due to the forced redesign. However, given MGM&#8217;s success in the <strong>Washington, D.C.<\/strong>, area and its ability to retain market supremacy at <strong>Borgata<\/strong>, there&#8217;s no reason to believe its newest trophy property won&#8217;t achieve a handsome ROI.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/imCbh_XsPxY\" width=\"450\" height=\"253\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Massachusetts<\/strong> lawmakers juiced the state lottery into the 2011 casino-enabling legislation, meaning that MGM Springfield will be a point of sale for lottery tickets, keeping everyone happy.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m cautiously optimistic. But I never count any money until it\u2019s in,\u201d state Treasurer <strong>Deborah Goldberg<\/strong> told the <em>Boston Herald<\/em>, noting that the bottom didn&#8217;t fall out of the lottery market when <strong>Plainridge Park<\/strong> opened. If anything, quite the reverse. If anything, the lottery has more to fear from its lack of a mobile or online presence than from pleasure palaces like MGM Springfield.<\/p>\n<p>* <strong>Cliven Bundy<\/strong> for governor of <strong>Nevada<\/strong>? Some would say it&#8217;s a sign of the Apocalypse, <a href=\"https:\/\/boingboing.net\/2018\/08\/23\/white-horse-prophesy.html\" class=\"broken_link\">including Bundy himself<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>* One gaming stock <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-08-24\/asia-casino-operator-shares-plummet-after-chairman-goes-missing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"broken_link\">took a pummeling<\/a> after <strong>Landing Development<\/strong> Chairman\u00a0<strong>Yang Zhihui<\/strong> briefly disappeared. Between a renewed anti-corruption push in <strong>China<\/strong> and the scotching of a Landing casino project by <strong>Philippines<\/strong> despot <strong>Rodrigo Duterte<\/strong>, there was fertile fodder for paranoia. It was thought Zhihui had been &#8220;disappeared&#8221; by Chinese authorities. One report had him being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-landing-intl-dev-stocks\/casino-firm-landing-says-unable-to-contact-chairman-market-value-halves-idUSKCN1L90W4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">detained at an airport<\/a> in <strong>Cambodia<\/strong>, which Cambodian authorities denied. Zhihui also may have been sucked into an anti-corruption probe of <strong>Hong Kong<\/strong>&#8216;s\u00a0<strong>Huarong International Financial Holdings<\/strong>, Zhihui having close to Huarong&#8217;s chairman,\u00a0<strong>Lai Xiaomin<\/strong>. Don&#8217;t expect Landing stock to resurface until Zhihui does.<\/p>\n<p>* <strong>Palace Station<\/strong>&#8216;s new buffet proves that value ($17.99 for dinner) and quantity aren&#8217;t incompatible. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/travel\/lasvegas\/la-tr-las-vegas-buffet-palace-station-20180822-story.html#nws=mcnewsletter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">That&#8217;s the verdict<\/a> of the <em>Los Angeles Times<\/em>, which sampled <strong>Las Vegas<\/strong>&#8216; newest repast, quoting an <em>LVA<\/em> review that described it as &#8220;stellar.&#8221; (<strong>Anthony Curtis<\/strong> does not hand out such compliments lightly.) Asian and vegetarian offerings drew particular praise. Whatever your taste, it sounds like you&#8217;ll be in serious danger of gorging yourself if you patronize Station&#8217;s new spread.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It seems Springfield has a tornado to thank for MGM Resorts International&#8216;s interest in the city, the beginning of a seven-year quest that climaxed with the Budweiser Clydesdales leading a parade to the new megaresort. CEO Jim Murren was window-shopping &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/mgm-springfield-impresses-the-case-of-the-disappearing-chairman\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23,18,26,140,22,53,72,112,245,207,69,192,57],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22340"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22340"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22349,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22340\/revisions\/22349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}