Global casino firm Wynn Resorts has swooped to appoint a new executive that used to call MGM Resorts International home. Gamal Aziz will become president and CEO of Wynn Resorts Development and the move is being made to speed up the process of building new casino locations. A statement from Steve Wynn, quoted by Bloomberg, said: “Our activities in North America and Cotai require that the company expand its leadership”, and that Gamal would give them a “tremendous boost” going into 2013. Wynn Resorts has submitted a proposal in Philadelphia and is expected to pursue a resort in Massachusetts. They also have a proposal on the table in Cotai.
Casino advocates in Toronto believe gambling could upgrade the city’s mass-transportation system. The Star reports that a policy paper released by the Toronto Taxpayers Coalition states that “innovative revenue sources” could bring as much as $400million a year to Toronto’s subway system. They say money would come from a casino hosting fee charged by the city as well as money from licensed tables in bars and anyone using the OLG website within the city limits. Matthew McGuire, the coalition president, added: “We can leverage the city’s influence and size as well as OLG’s desire for a casino to negotiate very aggressively in the best interest of taxpayers.”
Plans for a casino in New York’s Coney Island are facing fierce opposition from a Jewish community group. The Sephardic Community Federation, based in neighboring Manhattan, are claiming a slot house will cause “everything negative” to go up as that is what happens “when you bring in a casino”. The words are those of Steve Zeltser a concerned resident and head of the Stop the Coney Casino campaign and he points to trouble created in Queens by Resorts World New York City. Zeltser has looked past the economic benefits that a casino can bring areas and that all types of entertainment are likely to bring their own crime with them. He only need take notice of studies from the likes of Dr Patrick Basham that show how valuable gambling venues can be for certain residents in the community. Not the crime infested pits of scum that he believes they are.
