Minnesota’s next casino could yet be in Duluth with the city still pursuing a venue on the waterfront with plans not dead, just “not moving”. The Duluth News-Tribune report the Duluth Entertainment Convention Centre could still build a casino on the city’s waterfront if a revenue sharing deal with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa falls through. Rumors of a new casino were first floated this time last year after the partnership was revealed to be under threat and it sounds as though the original plans are still very much in place.
A developer has criticized Massachusetts for delaying to opening up of a casino region in the state. CapeCodeOnline reports that Barry Gosin, principal of KG Urban Enterprises, sent a letter to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Dec. 27 in which he criticized the decision to allow the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe until March to renogiate a compact with Governor Deval Patrick.
Gosin wrote: “It seems clear that the Commission’s decisions and public statements regarding the Region C question have had the unfortunate effect of further discouraging any future commercial interest or investment in Region C, instead reinforcing the gaming industry’s prevailing and oft-stated (to us) conclusion that the entire Southeast region of the Commonwealth is `wired for the Indians.’ “
Connecticut’s casinos are at the mercy of the state’s economy with Foxwoods CEO Scott Butera saying as much in a recent interview. Much like other years the way the state’s economy goes is linked to the success of the casinos and they’re eagerly watching the fiscal talks in Washington D.C. Butera added that if they “can get something done, I’m optimistic we’ll see growth. Not gangbusters growth but positive growth.” Mitchell Etess, CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, also added: “In Connecticut, how goes the economy will have a lot to say about how Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods fare in 2013.”
