Winners and losers in Massachusetts casino plans

The opening of the $250 million Plainridge Park Casino last month wasn’t exactly the grand unveiling Massachusetts gaming backers envisioned more than four years ago.

We’re not being critical of Penn National Gaming’s newest casino. The all-slot machine facility is attached to the Plainridge Park Racecourse, a harness racing track, in Plainville, a town about 35 miles southwest of heavily populated Boston.

The trouble is Plainridge Park — Massachusetts’ first legal gambling hall — will be the commonwealth’s last casino for a few years. Two of the three Las Vegas-style casinos planned for the state won’t open until 2018. The third will take longer.

That leaves Plainridge Park as Massachusetts’ only game.

Janney Montgomery Scott gaming analyst Brian McGill told investors the delays “keep Plainridge as the closest casino to Boston for three more years. In general, the Boston area is an underserved gaming market.”

Massachusetts casino proponents said the state’s 2011 Expanded Gaming Act was a job creator for construction, hospitality and tourism. It was also a tax vehicle, providing $300 million to $500 million annually in new revenue.

Those projections may still come true — well into the next decade.

MGM Resorts International, which last year earned the right to build the $800 million MGM Springfield in western Massachusetts, wants to delay the opening by a year, into 2018, when an Interstate 91 rebuild is completed.

Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s proposed $1.7 billion casino complex on the banks of the Mystic River in Everett — just outside of Boston — has been slowed by political, legal and regulatory challenges. It may not open until 2018.

The casino license for the state’s southeast region, which was originally set aside for an Indian tribe, is the subject of a tug-of-war between Brockton and New Bedford. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission won’t pick a winner until fall.

The three resort licenses required an upfront fee of $85 million and a promise to drop more than $500 million on the facility. The gaming tax rate was 25 percent.

Penn National paid a $25 million license fee for the slot machine parlor and is facing a 40 percent gaming revenue tax, and 9 percent to the state’s race horse development fund.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission said Plainridge Park collected $6.154 million in gaming revenue in its first week.

McGill visited Plainridge Park shortly after it opened and came away convinced the casino will provide Penn National $84 million in annual cash flow by next year. Besides drawing from Boston, the casino can draw from Providence, R.I., which is 18 miles south.

“From our perspective, we are confident the initial results will be strong out of Plainridge,” McGill said. “We also think the company’s estimated annual revenue of $250 million could prove to be conservative.”

Penn National pulled out all the stops in launching the 44,000-square-foot casino with its 1,250 slot machines, including video poker and electronic table games. Penn National executives were joined by local dignitaries and two Las Vegas-style showgirls for the June 25 ribbon cutting.

Former Boston College and New England quarterback Doug Flutie participated in opening ceremonies. Doug Flutie’s Sports Pub is one of Plainridge Park’s signature restaurants, and his 1984 Heisman Trophy is displayed there.

More than 10,000 visitors packed the casino in its first 19 hours of operation, a success by most standards.

Plainridge Park’s closest gaming competition is the Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I., about a 30-minute commute from Plainville. Twin River has 4,500 slot machinelike video lottery terminals and 80 live-dealer table games. It also allows smoking. Plainridge is smoke-free.

The Indian tribes that own the Connecticut resorts dread Massachusetts’ entry into the Northeast casino fold.

That’s not the case for the Massachusetts, which could use the gaming tax revenue. MGM’s delay could cost the state $125 million per year.

MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis told gaming regulators the company could be on the hook for “tens of millions” in additional interest money by pushing back the opening date.

But MGM was willing to bite the bullet because I-91 is a “critical piece of infrastructure.” The highway brings 100,000 cars a day past the property’s site and MGM would rather wait than see its opening disrupted by construction and congestion.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has to sign off on the casino’s construction schedule. MGM has already said it would give Springfield an additional $1 million payment in 2017, and its revenue commitments, if the city backs the delay.

So the big winner is Plainridge Park.

Via: Las Vegas Review Journal

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Massachusetts Flag Is ANOTHER A Symbol Of White Supremacy, Says Boston Columnist

THESE PEOPLE HAVE GONE AROUND THE BEND!!!!

In the wake of Governor Nikki Haley’s decision to remove the Confederate flag from South Carolina’s capitol building, a columnist from Boston has started to profess that the Massachusetts flag is also offensive and racist.

“Though the Massachusetts state flag is not as overtly abhorrent as the one that flies on South Carolina’s state capital grounds,” Boston Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham wrote on Thursday, “it is still pretty awful.”

The state flag of Massachusetts depicts the state’s Coat of Arms: a blue shield on a white plain marked by a white star, a gold arm wielding a sword, a Latin motto that translates to, “By the sword we seek peace, but peace under liberty,” and the central figure — a gold Native American man holding a bow and arrow.

The Coat of Arms is riddled with symbolism that refer to the state’s history. The single star is meant to represent Massachusetts as one of the first Thirteen Colonies, while the Native American’s arrow is positioned downwards to symbolize peace.

Abraham, however, believes that while it may be a representation of Massachusetts history, it’s overall message is indicative of one of the state’s more shameful moments in state history.

“It is hard to read it all together as anything but a flag designed by and for the colonial conquerors who made the Bay State,” Abraham wrote, “The ones who won the land by all but eradicating the people who got here first.”

Abraham expresses that she believes the sword, and therefore the Latin motto as well, are meant to represent the English settlers’ victory and oppression over the Native Americans, thus making the entire state flag culturally offensive.

On the other hand, the secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts attributes the arm and sword to the Massachusetts province’s fight for freedom from the control of England as the imagery was added to the state seal during the American Revolutionary War.

Additionally, many vexillologists — professional flag scholars — have interpreted the centrally-focused figure to be a loyal Native American ally of the Massachusetts settlers.

Via: Daily Caller

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Boston terror suspects plotted to behead police officers, source says

The dead suspect, 26-year-old Usaama Rahim, was under surveillance by the Joint Terrorism Task Force when he was shot at about 7 a.m. near a CVS in the city's Roslindale neighborhood, when he brandished the blade at police. Later Tuesday, authorities arrested another suspect, David Wright, in connection with the case, police said.

"We believe the intent was to behead a police officer," one official told The Boston Globe. "We knew the plot had to be stopped. They were planning to take action Tuesday."

Rahim was shot outside a CVS Pharmacy in Roslindale, Mass. at approximately 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told reporters that members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force approached Rahim to question him about "terrorist-related information" they had received when he moved toward officers with the knife.

Evans said officers repeatedly ordered Rahim to drop the knife but he continued to advance. He said task force members fired their guns, hitting Rahim once in the torso and once in the abdomen. Rahim was taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Via: Fox News

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States lag far behind on ObamaCare enrollment

States running their own ObamaCare exchanges are lagging far behind their enrollment targets, even as scrutiny centers on the federally run HealthCare.gov. 

The Obama administration had set a Monday deadline for people to sign up if they want coverage by Jan. 1, though ended up pushing it back until Tuesday amid concerns about the federal website. HealthCare.gov continued to exhibit problems, with the site sending would-be applicants into a virtual waiting line whenever it was overloaded with visitors. 

But while President Obama claims the federal site is steadily increasing its enrollment traffic, many states are struggling. 

Perhaps the most notorious is Oregon. The state's insurance website failed spectacularly after the Oct. 1 launch. The state reportedly has signed up 11,000 for private plans after moving to a paper application system. But in another sign of the uncertainty, applicants began receiving robocalls warning them they should look elsewhere for coverage if they hadn't heard from the state by Monday, in order to get coverage by Jan. 1. 

All states have a long way to go to reach their target enrollment figures by March 31, the date by which people are supposed to have insurance to avoid a penalty. As of Nov. 30, most state-run exchanges had reached less than 10 percent of that target. 

In Massachusetts, the exchange had signed up only 1,138 people. That's a fraction of a percent of the target of 250,000 by the end of March. 

Via: Fox News Politics

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Just where is Scott Brown? New Hampshire? Massachusetts? BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

Where's Scott Brown? Not clear that Scott Brown knows.

Brown is the former Massachusetts senator who's being mentioned as a possible U.S. Senate candidate in New Hampshire next year.

The Republican was interviewed in Londonderry, N.H., Thursday, and momentarily seemed to forget where he was.

Here was his comment:

"What I've heard from the Republicans up here is they're thankful that I've been around for a year, helping them raise money, helping them raise awareness as to the issues that are affecting not only people here in Massachuset--uh, in New Hampshire, but also in Massachusetts, obviously, in Maine. I've been to Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, I've been all over the New England area, certainly, talking and helping people raise money."

The video was publicized Friday by American Bridge, a group with strong Democratic party ties.

Via: MCClatchyDC

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Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/12/06/210838/just-where-is-scott-brown-new.html#storylink=cpy

Traveling This Thanksgiving? CHECK OUT: FOX EXTREME WEATHER CENTER

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX EXTREME WEATHER CENTER !

 

Winter storm system heads east, could cause big delays for Thanksgiving travelers

Snow and ice are forecast for the northeast of the country as a deadly storm that started on the West Coast last week gathers steam Tuesday and powers toward the East in time for Thanksgiving.

The National Weather Service warned that the storm would almost certainly upset holiday travel plans for those hoping to visit loved ones in the mid-Atlantic and northeast.

"The timing of the storm couldn't be worse," said Chris Vaccaro, spokesman for the weather service headquarters in Silver Spring, Md. "We are seeing numerous threats as the storm is beginning to develop and intensify."

Vaccaro said heavy rain and high winds would impact travel by air and road in the northeast and mid-Atlantic, and that the weather in that part of the country could have a ripple effect on airports with departing and originating flights elsewhere.

On Tuesday and Wednesday morning, heavy rain and breezy conditions will strike the East Coast from the Carolinas to the northeast, with ice and snow a possibility in the Appalachians, western Pennsylvania and western New York.

The storm system, already blamed for at least 11 deaths, could also spawn an isolated tornado in the Florida Panhandle.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX EXTREME WEATHER CENTER!

Via: Fox News

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Another ObamaCare Casualty: Harvard Pilgrim lays off 65 workers, almost all of them in Massachusetts

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, the Wellesley-based health insurer, confirmed Thursday that it laid off 65 workers, reducing its three-state workforce by about 6.5 percent to 1,265.

Sixty-two of the job cuts were in Massachusetts, said Joan Fallon, a spokeswoman for the insurance company.. In addition, Harvard Pilgrim will eliminate 35 open positions, but will add 12 new ones, according to Fallon. The insurer plans to expand into a fourth state, Connecticut, next year.

In a statement, Harvard Pilgrim said the cutback was “part of a strategic plan to align... organizational structure with the changing health care environment.” It said the insurance carrier will provide severance and support services for employees who were laid off.

In addition to Massachusetts, the insurer has operations in Maine and New Hampshire.

Via: Boston Globe

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