Caesars Preps for Possible Revel-ation in Atlantic City

Hail, Caesars Entertainment: the casino company may or may not be eyeing Atlantic City’s Revel as their acquisition that is newest
We doubt that the Roman emperor himself kept his name center and front because well as Caesars Entertainment Corporation does these days. And despite continuing to transport the gaming industry’s heaviest debt load hovering at the $24 billion mark, buying and building new properties doesn’t seem to be always a problem for this casino conglomerate.
Lately, they are in talks with Japanese leaders to create a possible new casino in Osaka just as gaming is legalized in Japan, and now the latest news, in accordance with some insider reports, is the fact that they’ve their eye on Atlantic City’s issue youngster casino, Revel.
Could Revel Be Next on Their List?
Revel formally went into bankruptcy right back in March 2013; not even 12 months into its once-gloriously touted entrance onto the Atlantic City land gaming that is beleaguered scene. Now anyone interested in snatching the casino up will have under two weeks to submit a bid, and according to Bloomberg, Caesars is not a slam dunk for this purchase; neither is it even 100 % specific they will even take action to do this.
Other contenders are in the mix; those include Orlando-based tricky Rock Overseas, who the nyc Post month that is last as being in ‘advanced negotiations’ for the purchase. That was after a decision by Hard Rock to scrap plans to build their very own casino in the New Jersey gambling mecca back in 2012; reportedly because in a nutshell the casino business is pretty much down for the count in that town. With profits dipped to a three-decade low in 2013 largely due to competition that is massive surrounding states building one thing new sort of lost its appeal, evidently.
Who knows who to trust right here, if the inside scoop at Bloomberg shows proper, Caesars would become holding five Atlantic City casinos, that is almost half for the city’s remaining 11 presently in procedure. And that’s not even taking into consideration the now-closed Atlantic Club that Caesars purchased at a fire purchase auction for absolutely nothing at the conclusion of 2013.
NJDGE May Force A purchase
All this acquisition that is local existence may not sit well, nonetheless, with brand New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), which will not take fondly to just what would fundamentally amount to some antitrust issues by holding what the DGE relates to as ‘undue economic concentration’ within the town.
If the Revel purchase become reality, it would push Caesars presence in Atlantic City’s casinos up to 47.2 percent in terms of revenue shares.
Exactly What it all adds up to in this still very hypothetical situation is that the DGE could actually force Caesars to either sell off or shut down one of its other four extant gambling enterprises should they add Revel into their fold. Most apparent for that situation would be either Bally’s or the Showboat, as their moneymakers don’t shake as well as Caesars AC or Harrah’s AC; the latter two have already been trailing just down from competitors Borgata (owned by MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming) on a basis that is monthly.
The casino has nowhere to go but up as for revel. Even pre-opening, investor Morgan Stanley had already chosen to write off close to one billion dollars with debt so they wouldn’t have to sink anymore into the property’s money-pit construction funding. By the right time Revel opened its doorways in 2012 with a much-touted ‘no smoking anywhere in the casino’ policy all it mostly heard at the slot devices and tables ended up being the noise of silence. Despite spending $2.4 billion on the casino, clients in the somewhat more blue-collar Atlantic City demographic evidently don’t feel in the home there. And despite later reversing the no smoking cigarettes dictum and advertising exactly what some later called misleading ‘free cash for play’ to gamblers, the numbers simply never really picked up; for 2013, the casino came in eighth away from (then) 12 for Atlantic City’s overall gaming revenue ladder.
How much might Caesars or any bidder, for instance ante up for Revel if they in fact purchase it? Nobody understands yet. But also for both Caesars and Atlantic City, making more money than they spend might be a goal that is good 2014.
Foxwoods Fall River Casino Goes Official, But Nevertheless Needs a Site
Foxwoods is still into the game in Massachusetts, with Fall River now behind their casino project (Image: WBZ-TV)
Foxwoods might have been rejected in Milford, but they’re not giving up on the fantasy of a Massachusetts casino at this time. As happens to be speculated for some right time now, Foxwoods and the city of Fall River are working together to make a casino proposition that they hope will be able to win certainly one of the three casino licenses available in the state.
Economic Increase for City
The plans were announced at a press conference recently, in which Mayor William Flanagan and officials from Foxwoods made public their plan to bring a $750 million resort casino to the city. The mayor stated that the casino could produce as many as 5,000 jobs for the city, which has continued to experience an unemployment rate that is far greater than that of Massachusetts as a whole.
According to officials, the casino would feature 140,000 square feet of gaming, along side up to 20 restaurants, a hotel, a convention center and venues for concerts along with other events.
‘We want this to be a destination here in Massachusetts in addition to the Northeast,’ Mayor Flanagan stated.
Foxwoods CEO and president Scott Butera agreed that the casino could be a ‘destination resort,’ saying that major properties like the one they have planned are ‘economic engines like nothing else within the world.’
While Foxwoods was refused from Milford, they feel confident that they can be welcomed in Fall River.
‘ We all know it’s the right home for us,’ Butera said.
Locals Support Foxwoods Project
Local experts in the casino industry agree with Butera’s assessment. Professor Clyde Barrow for the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth says that non-binding votes and polling that is public regularly shown support for a casino within the Fall River area.
‘ Assuming they get a site and can negotiate a host contract, I have actually no doubt a casino proposal would pass in Fall River,’ said Barrow.
Finding a site appears to be the sticking point that is largest in the program at the moment. While Foxwoods features a plan that is rough of they’d want to do in Fall River, they do not yet have any land to build on yet.
That was a major focus of the Tuesday press conference, as Mayor Flanagan appealed to owners whom might potentially be willing to sell large parcels of land. Foxwoods is apparently trying to find a site of 30 to 70 acres on which to build, using the mayor saying that a waterfront site could be ideal.
Foxwoods ought to be in a position to move quickly, while the casino firm has already undergone criminal record checks and received a suitability ruling during their campaign to build a casino in Milford.
Foxwoods would now be competing for the casino license for sale in Southeastern Massachusetts. While the licenses for Western Massachusetts and Greater Boston will be awarded in a matter of months, the Southeastern license ended up being delayed as state regulators allowed the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to try and gain land on which to create a casino in Taunton. With that process seemingly stalled, the state gambling commission lifted the freeze on the Southeastern region last year. Foxwoods has become just the second business to seek a casino in the region, joining KG Urban, which is looking to build a casino in New Bedford.
For Foxwoods, the strange series of events that brought them to Fall River feels like divine intervention.
Nj-new Jersey Legislators Reintroduce International Online Gambling Bill
If new legislation undergoes in brand new Jersey, the Garden State could become a global player in the on line gaming universe.
The online gambling market in New Jersey may not be pulling in the enormous revenues that Governor Chris Christie predicted, but overall, the launch has been regarded as a success for the state’s gambling enterprises. But even while the New Jersey Internet gambling market is in its infancy, some legislators are thinking ahead to how a state could capitalize on legal on the web gambling worldwide.
Going Global
A brand new proposal from nj-new Jersey state senators Ray Lesniak and Jim Whelan would allow Atlantic City casinos and their partners who have actually earned online gambling licenses in the state to supply their games in other regulated jurisdictions because well. That would take nj-new jersey’s online offerings away from an admittedly large cottage industry and onto a much broader stage, where in fact the potential earnings for casinos as well as the local government are nearly limitless.
‘This starts up the market that is worldwide us, the $30 billion Big Kahuna,’ said Senator Lesniak.
This bill is not the very first time New Jersey’s legislators have taken a look at where else the state’s licensees might offer their online gaming web sites. The idea was first floated by Lesniak last year, before the very first sites also went live. Under that version of the legislation, on the web gambling organizations from throughout the world could have been welcomed to New Jersey, potentially turning the state into a international gambling hub. That legislation was later changed to require businesses to use specifically away from Atlantic City, and to remove a requirement that on line gambling firms help fund the state’s horseracing industry.
Stepping Outside State Lines
The version that is new of legislation simplifies those proposals. Underneath the plan that is current nj-new jersey’s licensed casinos and their online gambling lovers would be allowed to offer their services in other regulated jurisdictions. In place of bringing the entire world of gambling to the state, it would allow New Jersey’s online casino industry to touch base to the massive worldwide market rather.
The bill would also need payment processors become licensed in the way that is same New Jersey’s casinos and their online gambling lovers. This would hopefully re solve some regarding the present dilemmas players are having with finance institutions online that is preventing gambling from being processed for their state’s regulated web sites. Many major banking institutions are wary of approving gambling that is online for an assortment of reasons, including confusion over just how state and federal laws interact on this problem. It really is hoped that licensing re payment processors could help ease these issues.
Lesniak believes that such legislation would allow New Jersey to reap the maximum benefit from online gambling to its association.
‘[The bill] would put nj-new Jersey at the hub of an international gaming industry that is anticipated to experience rapid growth in the years ahead,’ Lesniak said as he first introduced the bill in November. ‘The plan would assist attract worldwide gaming companies to New Jersey, producing jobs, state revenue and economic expansion.
‘we have been well placed to make the most of an opportunity that is dynamic be at the hub of a new company sector with the potential for economic growth and job creation,’ the senator added.