CasinoWatch

More Indian are coming; Bingo going; M-boro rep demurs

Connecticut tribes explore Massachusetts for casino sites
In a race to maintain hold on N.E. market

The Connecticut Indian tribe that operates the Foxwoods casino and its Las Vegas partner are actively scouring Massachusetts for casino locations, part of a race between two of Connecticut's tribes to protect their share of the New England gambling market.  The Mashantucket Pequot and MGM Mirage, which operates the Bellagio and MGM Grand among other resorts in Las Vegas and other casinos around the country, have so far shopped for a site in the Boston area and in Western Massachusetts. Foxwoods officials spent a good portion of the past two months in talks with operators of Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere, but the talks fizzled. An executive from MGM Mirage, meanwhile, has looked at a 1,600-acre tract in the Central Massachusetts town of Warren.

Another tribe, the Mohegan, which operates Mohegan Sun, was the first Connecticut tribe to plant a flag in Massachusetts with a proposed site on 150 acres in Palmer.  The competing tribes' interest in bidding for gaming licenses under Governor Deval Patrick's plan to introduce resort-casinos demonstrates how they are seeking to use their riches to expand beyond Connecticut's borders, after enjoying a lock on New England casino gambling for more than a decade... 

The Pequot formed a partnership with MGM Mirage last year to seek development possibilities worldwide. Scott Snow, executive vice president of MGM Mirage, recently toured the Warren location, according to the current property owners.  The Warren site, adjacent to the intersection of Interstates 90 and 84, is less than 10 miles from the area in Palmer where the Mohegan tribe wants to build...  Globe.  
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Bingo takes a bath, and blame it on casinos

WATERTOWN, MA. – Pauline LaCava can rattle off locations of bingo games that closed in her hometown as fast as she can scan her bingo sheet, daubing pink ink marks on numbers as they’re called at St. Patrick Church in Watertown.  “There used to be one every night of the week,” said LaCava, 80, seated at the rear of the Catholic church basement, where the night’s top prize will be $330. “I definitely feel the casinos hurt bingo. Foxwoods has the bingo every day and every night.”

Bingo had been a reliable source of revenue for churches, schools, youth sports leagues and veterans organizations since the early 1970s. The games have been on the decline for several years, in part because of aging players, smoking bans and the lure of Keno and casinos.  Now, bingo players and the organizations that benefit from the games in this area worry that more casinos would be the final blow...  “It will close us down,” said the Rev. Francis Daley, pastor of Saints Martha and Mary Church in Lakeville, which borders Middleborough, the town in which the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe wants to build a $1 billion casino. “We cannot compete with their prizes"...  Tacoma WA News-Tribune. 
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Town's State Legislator no fan of Middleboro casino plan

The town of Middleboro may be contractually obligated to support the Wampanoag’s efforts to locate a resort casino there, but that doesn’t mean the town’s lawmakers have to like it.  Democratic Rep. Thomas Calter, who lives in Kingston and represents the Middleboro precinct where the casino would be located, is flat-out opposed to the tribe’s proposal, saying it would create a traffic nightmare.

"In its current form I cannot support (the tribal casino in Middleboro)," Rep. Calter told the Enterprise of Brockton. "It does not consider the host region. I will not consider an irresponsible project for the sake of additional money...  Standard-Times.