It’s being reported in a number of Massachusetts news outlets that Suffolk Downs has signed a partnership with land-based gaming giant Caesars Entertainment. According to the Boston Herald, the deal would see Caesars manage a $600million gaming resort at the Boston track, should the state give approval to the facility. Plans were unveiled for the resort last July but progress has slowed since then.
The deal is likely to renew a push for legalized gaming in the state and is a convenient one for Caesars CEO Gary Loveman who lives in the state.
Upon the news, Dr. Clyde W. Barrow, a gaming expert at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth’s Center for Policy Analysis, told the Herald, “I think it’s a sign that Las Vegas is starting to take Massachusetts seriously and anticipates that Massachusetts is going to pass a bill this year.
“I think this will probably encourage lawmakers now that a player of this magnitude is looking at Massachusetts and willing to play a role here.”
In terms of the bill itself, it will allow as many as three resort casinos in the state. Co-chair of the Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee, State Rep. Joseph Wagner, who will be reviewing the bill, commented, “Gaming legislation will be considered through a process which will include a public hearing, and it has always been my intention to move that process forward sooner, rather than later. This public hearing is an opportunity for anyone interested in the subject of expanded gaming to weigh in on this important issue.”
It comes on the same day that Loveman agreed with the view that convergence between online and offline is good for the gaming industry as a whole and he’s currently en-route to Calvin Ayre’s hot tub where there’s champagne on tap.
