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Post by Challedon on May 15, 2014 20:54:27 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2014 21:56:33 GMT -5
and this was the place that was so worried about the horsemen and keeping racing alive in that state?
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2014 23:34:03 GMT -5
I really don't think it's the way it was portrayed in the article.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2014 1:17:15 GMT -5
why wouldn't you George? you seem to think wynn was all about the money, but not these people?
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Post by hesnotmypres on May 16, 2014 5:18:02 GMT -5
Wiz it's the last act of a desperate group. They know WYNN is the better proposal and now they are blowing smoke up the publics asses....
Yet people can't see through there rose colored glasses.......
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2014 8:01:41 GMT -5
why wouldn't you George? you seem to think wynn was all about the money, but not these people? This is what they said. It's not an "offer to abandon racing for casino". “If, by continuing to race, Suffolk Downs would invalidate or jeopardize Mohegan Sun’s application or gaming license, we would not do it,” wrote Charles A. Baker, the track’s secretary, in an April 30 letter to the state gambling commission. “We would not let racing or any other activity on the remainder of Suffolk Downs’ land get in the way of a successful gaming establishment . . . in Revere.”I know this will be spun so badly it'll make everyone dizzy, so I'm going to sit this discussion out until the license is awarded in a few weeks. |
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2014 12:05:57 GMT -5
Suffolk Downs just sent out an email clarifying the rumors going around. It appears that the "abandon racing" rumor was put out by someone on "the other side" to discredit Suffolk Downs' commitment to racing. I suspected as much. The issue was whether or not Boston (Easties) would be considered a host community. If that was true, THEN Suffolk Downs would have had to close because of the intertwined relationships between Boston/Revere/SD/Mohegan Sun. But the commission ruled that Boston is NOT a host community, so all is well. It may have been an act of a desperate group, but that group doesn't include Suffolk Downs or Mohegan Sun. Here's the email: In his latest guest blog on our website, Suffolk Downs COO Chip Tuttle reiterates a point from which the track has never wavered: it is committed to racing if gaming occurs on its property. Opponents to gaming have tried to distort the contents of a letter Suffolk Downs sent to the Gaming Commission last week in response to arguments that Boston was a host community for Mohegan Sun's Revere resort. The Commission agreed with Suffolk Downs and Mohegan Sun last week that only Revere was the host community. That’s great news. A Mohegan Sun Massachusetts resort casino on the Revere side of the property will allow Suffolk Downs the opportunity to focus entirely on enhancing the racing experience and preserving hundreds of important jobs and thousands of acres of working open space on family farms in Massachusetts.
And here's a blog post from their COO: friendsofsuffolkdowns.com/2014/05/coo-chip-tuttle-suffolk-downs-committed-racing COO Chip Tuttle: Suffolk Downs is Committed to RacingWe have been consistent over the last several years and said countless times that the future of racing here depends on expanded gaming happening on the property. The latest kerfuffle in the seven-year quest to bring expanded gaming to the Suffolk Downs property involves recent stories on the CommonWealth Magazine web site and in the Boston Globe that discuss a moot point from the Gaming Commission's decision on host community status for Mohegan Sun's Revere resort proposal. As you might have seen, the Commission decided at its meeting last week that Boston was a not a host community for Mohegan Sun's proposed development on a portion of our property in Revere. This is good news and Mohegan Sun is working with the City of Boston on a surrounding community agreement. Before that hearing, one of our attorneys, Charlie Baker (not the guy running for Governor), sent a letter to the Commission to clarify two points. First, our agreement to lease the 40 acres in Revere to Mohegan Sun originally included a provision where we could ask Mohegan Sun to manage the racing operation in the future. Mohegan Sun has done a great job with Pocono Downs in northeastern Pennsylvania and, back in December when we were negotiating the terms of the lease, our owners thought it was a reasonable option to be able to ask Mohegan Sun to bring that expertise to bear here. Charlie's letter let the Commission know that clause was no longer in effect. We can't ask Mohegan Sun to manage the track -- the racing and gaming operations must be separate. The second point Charlie's letter addressed was the potential linkage between Mohegan Sun's gaming operation and our racing operation. In an effort to achieve host community status for Boston and try to derail Mohegan Sun's proposal, the folks from No Eastie Casino keep arguing that a resort casino in Revere and our racing operation are "inextricably linked" and, because the track is in both cities, that somehow makes Boston a host community. We didn't believe their argument had any merit -- the track is as much an amenity of Mohegan Sun's resort as the Beachmont T station or the Stop & Shop next door -- and, thankfully, neither did the Commission. Charlie's letter basically said that if the Commission agreed with No Eastie's premise and that somehow having a racing operation next to a casino somehow made the racing operation an amenity (and, in turn, provided basis for Boston to be a host community) then we would be forced to close the track, eliminating that as an obstacle. Not a pleasant prospect, I know, and it has opened us to additional criticism from gaming opponents. But sometimes this process requires us to take difficult positions. Thankfully, with the Commission's decision that Boston is not a host community, Mohegan Sun can move forward and Suffolk Downs can focus on what we can do to enhance racing here if Mohegan Sun is successful in earning the license for this region. |
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Post by Evelyn on May 16, 2014 12:09:17 GMT -5
I agree with George. Lots of spin. If you read the article, this is not about the actual casino proposals. It's about location. Boston tried to take over and it was denied. Baker clearly states "in Revere". The provision Boston was using to try to take control was explained. It's now been deleted, hence the statement. What an inflammatory, not really true, headline!
"a provision in the lease between Suffolk Downs and Mohegan Sun that gave track owners the option of having Mohegan Sun operate the racetrack.
City of Boston officials had flagged the provision as evidence that the track, most of which lies in East Boston, was so intertwined with the casino that the city is a “host community.” If Boston is considered a host community, it would have more power over the project, including the right to kill it with a binding vote in East Boston."
Wynn's proposal is in Everett - different politicos. Again - Politics!
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2014 12:16:58 GMT -5
One other thing that hasn't been mentioned (maybe because it's not needed yet) is that a few years ago Suffolk Downs bought the now defunct Wonderland Greyhound track, also in Revere and less than a mile from Suffolk Downs. If needed, I'm sure there's a contingency plan to use that property in some way for the casino - most likely parking with shuttle buses to the casino.
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Post by hesnotmypres on May 16, 2014 14:11:38 GMT -5
WYNN is getting the license that's a given...Suffolk Downs is just desperate...
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Post by Evelyn on May 16, 2014 17:21:15 GMT -5
Do you have inside info Pres? I hope not because I'd like to see Suffolk remain.
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Post by hesnotmypres on May 16, 2014 19:40:33 GMT -5
Evelyn on my last trip to Vegas I was in the Wynn and let's just say the writing is on the walls... 
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Post by Jon on May 20, 2014 0:56:40 GMT -5
When is the vote?
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 11:06:33 GMT -5
Jon, the decision was originally supposed to have been made by the end of May, but now it's "undetermined". I suspect it will be announced in the next couple of weeks anyway - all the data has been submitted and has been under review for a couple of months.
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Post by hesnotmypres on May 20, 2014 11:52:23 GMT -5
Jon: As per the Miami Herald, August is the EARLIEST the decision will be made....
Posted on Thursday, 05.15.14
emailprintcomment
Regulators dash Boston's casino host dreams
BY PHILIP MARCELO
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Gaming Commission released its written decision Thursday denying Boston residents the right to vote on casino proposals for neighboring Revere and Everett, as casino opponents called for a state investigation into the Boston-area casino licensing process.
The commission voted last week to deny Boston's request to be named a "host community" for Wynn's proposed $1.5 billion casino on a former industrial site in Everett and for Mohegan Sun's more than $1 billion project on land in Revere to be leased from the Suffolk Downs horse racing track.
State law sets out the number and locations for casino gambling, and the commission plans to pick the winner of the state's east region casino license by the end of August. The host community designation would have allowed Boston residents to vote on the proposals.
The 11-page decision Thursday set out the commission's legal arguments for its vote last week.
Still, the commission has designated Boston a "surrounding community," which would entitle the city to financial compensation from the region's winning casino. The city and casinos have about a month to negotiate agreements without an arbitrator.
Meanwhile, the anti-casino group "No Eastie Casino" delivered a letter to the offices of Inspector General Glenn Cunha and Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin seeking investigations into the licensing process.
"We are demanding a full independent investigation of the (commission's) apparent intent to withhold a crucial lease provision between Mohegan Sun and Suffolk Downs which would have given Boston an even stronger claim to host community status," Matt Cameron, a lawyer for the group, said.
The group, which helped defeat a proposed casino on the East Boston side of the Suffolk Downs property last year, accuses the commission of "apparent collusion" with the race track and Mohegan Sun. It says a provision in Mohegan Sun's lease gave it the option to take over the track but was removed prior to the commission decision last week.
In its written decision, the commission said it rejected the city's reasoning that the two projects amount to a joint venture, with the track serving as an amenity to the proposed casino complex. Commissioners said the track entrance wasn't near the proposed entrance of the casino and the two facilities have different owners.
The commission also rejected Boston's arguments that it should be designated a host community for the Wynn project because the road leading to the property is partly located in the city and that the casino's "cross marketing agreements" with TD Garden and the Boston Symphony Orchestra qualified the city for the host designation.
A spokesman for Mayor Martin Walsh has said the city is weighing whether to challenge the commission ruling.
Read more here: www.miamiherald.com/2014/05/15/4119068/casino-opponents-want-state-probe.html#storylink=cpy
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2014 14:02:26 GMT -5
The article says "by the end of August".
That means a decision theoretically can be made even this afternoon, next week, June, or any time until the end of August. Since they were originally scheduled to make that decision by May 31, it probably will come sooner rather than later.
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Post by hesnotmypres on May 20, 2014 14:12:48 GMT -5
They will NOT decide until the END of August... Reason why Suffolk Downs Racing season gets more time in. Then they WILL announce WYNN gets the permit...
Bye Bye Suffolk Downs, hello GREATNESS....
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Post by Evelyn on May 20, 2014 20:45:14 GMT -5
The MH article is the same as the above except for the August mention. Guess they need the time to handle the new challenges about their decisions claiming collusion". Now that is what sounds "desperate" IMO!! Hope Mohegan Sun gets it!
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