Worcester Slots Company’s Track Record

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Kate Nagle, GoLocalWorcester News Contributor

Rush Street Gaming is looking to get approval of a host community agreement for its Wyman-Gordon slots proposal.

The Worcester slots parlor scenario continues to heat up with a meeting of the full City Council next Tuesday, April 23rd, followed by a second public forum on Wednesday, April 24th.

Rush Street Gaming, through their local affiliate Massachusetts Entertainment & Gaming LLC, is hoping it can parlay its $400,000 application fee with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to secure approval of a "host community agreement" in Worcester -- an ultimately the Commonwealth's sole Category 2 slots license this year.

Rush Street currently has three casinos in Illinois and Pennsylvania, which GoLocalWorcester decided to take a closer look at as Worcester considers the slots proposal.

Rush Street's Plans for Worcester

Rush Street Gaming has indicated that if successful in its efforts, it plans to build a $200 million facility on the Wyman-Gordon property on Madison Street that would include 1,250 slot machines. Hotel developer Richard L. Friedman has indicated he wants to build a full service hotel, with 150 to 200 rooms, to the tune of $40 million as part of the deal.

Prior to that happening, in addition to hosting a second public forum, the City Council must vote to instruct City Manager Michael O'Brien to broker a "host community agreement" with Mass Gaming and Entertainment. The City Council would then have to approve -- or reject -- moving forward with the agreement to put it to a citywide vote.

A representative from Rush Street Gaming told GoLocalWorcester on Tuesday that while no formal discussions have taken place for a deal, a "community host agreement would likely need to flesh out required traffic improvements and additional public safety provisions, as well as the terms of how the slots parlor would subsidize the proposed [Friedman] hotel."

Today, GoLocalWorcester takes a look at some of the current community issues surrounding the three current Rush Street Gaming casinos in Illinois and Pennsylvania -- and talks with former Worcester Mayor and current City Councilor Konstantina Lukes about the approval process.

Rivers Casino - Des Plaines, IL

Touted as Illinois' "newest gaming destination in Illinois and the first new casino built in the Chicago area since the mid-90’s," Rivers Casino in Des Plaines has over 1000 slots, 48 tables, and 7 restaurants.

On a casino website, it states that since opening, the casino has "created hundreds of construction jobs in addition to more than 1,000 permanent positions within the property, and is is expected to generate more than $150 million in annual gambling tax revenue that will benefit the State of Illinois, the City of Des Plaines and economically burdened communities."

The casino -- and its revenue -- recently came under close scrutiny in the Des Plaines Mayoral race, with Mayor-Elect Matt Bogusz harshly criticizing the deal struck in 2008 to get the most recent state casino license.

In an article reposted from the Chicago Daily Herald on Bogusz' campaign website, it reported that Des Plaines agreed to pay $10 million a year for 30 years from gambling revenues to the state, and 40 percent of the remainder to disadvantaged communities before the city gets its share of revenues.

Bogusz said the agreement placed all the risk and liability on the city, and as chairman of the city council’s Finance Committee, he pushed through a resolution on spending casino revenues, limiting their use to debt reduction and infrastructure improvements. The city council later adopted the measure.

Recently, the Des Plaines Patch reported that Rivers Casino took in more than $38 million last month, cashing in approximately 10 percent more in adjusted gross receipts compared with the same month last year.

SugarHouse Casino -- Philadelphia, PA

SugarHouse Casino, which opened in 2010 and currently has over 1000 employees, was recently voted a "best workplace" by The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News.

On its website, it states that during SugarHouse's first year of operation, it generated more than $100 million annually in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania tax revenue, and presently earns the highest table and slot win-per-unit of all Pennsylvania casinos.

However, slots revenue in March was down over 4% from the previous year, according to latest reports.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that SugarHouse HSP Gaming, LP, had agreed to pay the United States $650,000 to resolve claims that it performed unauthorized work at the SugarHouse casino and entertainment complex along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, in violation of the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act.

Rivers Casino -- Pittsburgh, PA

Opened in August 2009, Rivers Casino is Pittsburgh’s "first and only casino" and features nearly 3,000 slots, 86 table games, and poker. It lists over 1,800 employees, and it touts roughly $175 million in annual tax revenue for Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, and Pennsylvania.

According to its website, it "consistently ranks among the top highest-grossing properties for gaming revenue among all Pennsylvania casinos, and has been named “Best Overall Gaming Resort” in Pennsylvania by Casino Player magazine and “Best Overall Casino” in Pennsylvania by Strictly Slots magazine."

However, the Pittsburgh casino is currently facing major union organizing issues, as laid out last week in an article that appeared in the Pittsburgh City Paper here.

in 2011, The National Labor Relations Board ruled that the casino's parent company, the Holdings Acquisition Co., violated fair labor practices by restricting employees' right to engage in union activity at the workplace, surveilling union activity and granting a benefit to employees on the day of the election (an extra break for only one shift of workers to vote), after security workers attempted to unionize shortly after the casino opened in 2009.

Recently, a Rivers Casino employee who was found to have stolen $200 from the casino was arrested -- and ordered to pay $75,000 in restitution.

Councilor Lukes Speaks Out Against Worcester Rush Street Proposal Process

As Worcester moves forward determining the fate of a Rush Street slots proposal, former Worcester Mayor and City Councilor Konstantina Lukes has been vocal in her opposition to a slots parlor in the city.

Lukes most recently invoked "personal privilege" to put a stay on consideration of approving a host community agreement -- at the Council level.

"Look, the [City Council] keeps saying it's up to the public to decide, and they're not participating in the process," said Lukes on Tuesday. "Let's face it, there has been direct Council involvement into deciding -- and voting -- for this all to proceed."

"We're supposed to consider giving [O'Brien] the green light to broker an agreement [with Mass Gaming and Entertainment] next Tuesday -- and then ask the public for their input next Wednesday? What for? It's not like Worcester residents can then stop the process from moving forward at this point. They can stop it ultimately at a citywide vote, however -- but again, after the Council has been intimately involved with ushering this through."