Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Senecas to assist Massachusetts tribe on casinos

With two successful casino projects up and running, and a third permanent facility in development, the Seneca Nation of Indians will lend its gaming expertise to a Massachusetts tribe looking to get in the casino business.

The Senecas and the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head announced a partnership to pursue one of three gambling licenses proposed for Massachusetts. Seneca Nation President Maurice A. John Sr. joined with Aquinnah Wampanoag Chairman Donald A. Widdiss in Boston to announce the casino development effort.

"We have a proven track record of bringing casino projects to completion in neighboring New York," John said at the media event. "Our casinos are beautifully designed, and faithful to the cultural traditions of Native Americans."

Seneca Gaming spokesman Phil Pantano said John and Seneca gaming executives have been in discussions with the Aquinnah Wampanoags for months. Principals of the development group, including the Seneca president and Rajat Shah, Seneca Gaming's senior vice president for corporate development, already have met with some key Massachusetts legislators regarding the Aquinnah Wampanoags' casino interests.

Earlier this month, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick introduced a measure to authorize up to three destination resort casinos, with preference going to federally authorized Native American tribes. The Aquinnah Wampanoags were the first Massachusetts tribe to gain official authorization.

As legislation works its way through the Massachusetts legislature, the Senecas will assist the Aquinnah Wampanoags with market analysis, financing and lobbying

efforts, according to Pantano.

"If they are selected, Seneca Gaming would continue to lend its expertise in site selection and casino development," Pantano said. "The partnership agreement does not talk about any sort of operational relationship at this time. If that were to happen, there would be no ownership stake on our part."

The casino development partnership between the Senecas and the Martha's Vineyardbased tribe follows last week's announcement that the nation is vying for the rights to run a video lottery terminal casino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. Pantano said both opportunities open the door to greater exposure for its Western New York operations.

"Not only can we expand our expertise, and help out another tribe, but we can increase awareness of who we are and what we do," Pantano said.

He said in the case of Aqueduct, the nation's involvement will generate more revenue for New York State by cross-marketing upstate and downstate operations.

The Aqueduct gaming license will be awarded before the end of the year.

It is unlikely any casino will open in Massachusetts for at least three years.

In announcing the partnership, Widdiss, the Aquinnah Wampanoag chairman, noted the Senecas' fast-paced success in developing Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca and a temporary Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino in Buffalo. In less than five years, the Senecas have invested more than $750 million in their projects.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Kids, Smoking And Casinos Don't Mix

Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are the largest and best-known tourist attractions in the state. They provide a service that the public demands and the state is able to pull in beneficial extra cash through taxes. As any casino executive will tell you, casinos are a form of adult entertainment, as gambling and drinking are involved. However, anyone who has visited any of the Connecticut casinos recently can attest to one small problem: there are hundreds of chilfred, from newborns to toddlers to elementary school students, that are walking around these gambling Meccas.

This is because parents are eager to visit the casinos and gamble, despite having no one to care for the children. The casinos have done everything they can to accommodate childrenby building arcades, 3-D amusement rides and other kid-friendly activities. It is in their best interest financially because by providing child-friendly activities, they will be able to have more patrons (parents) come to gamble. The idea of bringing one's children to the casino is troublesome at best. Is watching adult role-models lose their money and drink excessive amounts of alcohol really the best example of good behavior? Is leaving a seven-year-old unattended in the arcade for six hours really responsible parenting?

The situation is greatly complicated when one factors in the amount of smoking that occurs in casinos, and the public is aware of how harmful secondhand smoking is. Unfortunately, the law that bans smoking in Connecticut's restaurants and bars does not apply to the casinos. This means that the casino patrons are allowed to smoke everywhere, including restaurants where children eat, as well as hallways and other common areas that cannot be avoided by children and families. This is wholly unacceptable because it exposes children to toxins that they should not be breathing in. Why is it that casinos are allowed to get away with this, but restaurants are not?

The casinos, to their credit, do not allow smoking in the arcades where kids are playing. Unfortunately, this is where the casinos' protection of children's health ends. Kids are being unfairly exposed to ubiquitous cigarette and cigar smoke, which is about the last thing that young, healthy lungs need. Since the casinos are not going to turn away business in the form of parents or tell their other patrons they cannot smoke, the state must step up to the plate and make a decision. Either ban smoking in the parts of casinos like restaurants and hallways where children are walking around, or ban children from the entire casino. If adults want to make the decision to expose themselves to smoke, it is their right to do so, but children don't have any choice in the matter. They deserve better than that.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Ads promoting Choctaw casino are offensive

Television commercials promoting the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians' effort to put a casino in Jackson County are offensive.

As opponents of the Choctaw casino, we would hardly be expected to agree with the tribe's methods to sway voters in a non-binding referendum to be held on Nov. 6. But the televised ads we have seen this week are not just disagreeable, they are insulting to South Mississippians in general, and Jackson Countians in particular.

Opening with scenes of devastation supposedly caused by Hurricane Katrina, the ads go on to suggest that unless Jackson Countians vote in favor of a monopoly casino franchise for the Choctaws, such scenes of ruin will remain in the county.

What utter nonsense.

Jackson County is no miserable disaster area.

From Ocean Springs to Moss Point and from St. Martin to Gautier, the resilience of residents and businesses has been remarkable. As has been the commitment to masterfully plan even better communities.

As for the mood of Jackson County, it can be downright delightful -- as was seen at the recent mullet festival in Gautier, or as can be seen at the county fair now being held in Pascagoula or as will be seen at the upcoming Peter Anderson festival in Ocean Springs.

Such celebrations shatter the pitiful picture of Jackson County put forward by the Choctaws.

For the Choctaws to employ such painful images in pursuit of profit undermines the efforts by the tourism and hospitality industries to showcase the area's comeback. It exemplifies the tribal leadership's conspicuously bad judgment, and raises serious questions about their understanding of this region, its people and their attitudes.

In inexcusably poor taste is the Choctaws' commercial use of children as cheerleaders for their proposed casino. At one point the Choctaws show kids giving a boisterous "thumbs up" to gambling.

If this is the best bet that the Choctaws can make, then Jackson County voters should call their bluff.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Illinois hopes to sell debt-ridden Collinsville hotel

The beleaguered Collinsville Holiday Inn, a sore point in a decades-old political debacle, could be sold within a year, said state officials who only last week foreclosed on the debt-ridden property.

Built with millions of dollars of unpaid state loans, the hotel has been mired in decline and debt. This year, state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias moved to formally reclaim the property.

The loans, to politically connected developers in 1982, were part of a statewide economic development program. But the local developers never made good and now owe a total of $32 million.

Monday, Giannoulias toured the hotel and said the foreclosure, which concluded Thursday in Madison County Court, marked the start of a turnaround for the hotel. The state plans renovations and a resale in hopes of salvaging something from its investment.

Officials are in talks with the Holiday Inn franchise about repairs that need to be made and hope the property will be a hot item at a national auction.

"I am proud to say that last week marked the start of a new beginning for this hotel," Giannoulias said. "This hotel should serve as an economic engine for the Metro East, not as a burden for the state."

Giannoulias, however, did not sugarcoat the issue. He declined to speculate on a final sale price but said clearly that the state would ultimately take a loss.

"Let's not kid ourselves. This hotel was built on false promises," said Giannoulias, calling the loans to developers Gary Fears and B.C. Gitcho a "sweetheart deal that never should have been made."

Though the original debt stood at $13.4 million, the project fell behind almost immediately. Fears and Gitcho continued to renegotiate their financing and eventually won provisions that required them to pay only if they made a profit.

Their last payment was made in 1998, according to state records. Officials have said they believe that poor, and perhaps criminal, management led to the ballooning debt.

Gitcho declined last week to comment to the Post-Dispatch and has previously described the hotel as a failing venture.

The hotel would seem to have sure-fire potential, sitting adjacent to the Gateway Center, one of the bistate region's largest convention sites, and only about 10 minutes from downtown St. Louis. Local officials hope that a turnaround of the hotel's fortunes could also be a boon for the area.

"The city (of Collinsville) and the Gateway Center have a huge stake in this," said Paul Mann, Collinsville's community development director. "We've lost a lot of business here because of this facility being degraded so much."

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

$4 tea bag makes our 'Hotel Hall of Shame'

Here's a report from my colleague Jayne Clark, who's just back from San Antonio and couldn't believe the tab for two cups of tea:

"'That’ll be $8.65.'

"I stared at the two paper cups of hot water, the two packaged tea bags and told the waitress in the lobby bar at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio that there must have been a mistake, since all I’d ordered was two cups of tea. 'It’s $8.65,' she repeated.

"I handed her $20 and asked if anyone else had balked at the price. She assured me they had not.

"The hotel may cater to guests traveling on expense accounts. But really. Paying $4 for a cup of hot water and a tea bag is outrageous, no matter who's footing the bill. "

OK, readers, we think that's a definite nominee for the Hotel Hall of Shame when it comes to high prices. It's right up there with 10% staff gratuities that aren't announced till the end of a stay or $6 quarts of bottled water on the nightstand.

So what are your Hall of Shame nominees in the pricing category. Fire away!!!!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Male teens allege sexual touching

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Wyndham Worldwide Corp., alleging that the New Jersey-based corporation failed to stop a resort manager's sexual harassment of employees at its Birch Bay resort.

In a press release, the EEOC contends that an unspecified number of young male workers, including some teenagers, were harassed by a male manager at the Worldmark Birch Bay at 4810 Beachcomber Drive. The lawsuit does not name the alleged offender or the employees.

The press release contends that the manager "repeatedly subjected the male teens to unwelcome touching of a sexual nature, commented about their physical appearance, and placed them in sexually charged situations."

The lawsuit, filed Sept. 28 in U.S. District Court in Seattle, states that the conduct began in 2004.

A Wyndham spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit contends that the manager's behavior deprived male employees of equal employment opportunities. The suit asks the court to impose an injunction ordering Wyndham to stop discriminatory practices, and take steps to ensure equal opportunity for its employees.

The suit also seeks unspecified cash damages for the employees, including punitive damages for "malicious and reckless conduct."

The EEOC's press release says the agency filed the lawsuit after efforts to reach a voluntary settlement failed.

Edward Hill, deputy director of the EEOC's Seattle office, said the law prohibited him from commenting on a pending case.

On its Web site, the EEOC reports that filings involving men as the victims have risen from 9 percent of all sexual harassment charges in 1992 to 15 percent in 2006

Friday, October 5, 2007

Detroit bets on rebirth as casino haven

The $2,500-per-night VIP penthouse suite has five plasma TV sets, one of them mounted in the bathroom mirror, a whirlpool, hot tub, kitchen, surround sound, iPod station, mood lighting, chandeliers, six pillows on every bed, 24-hour room service from Wolfgang Puck and a lovely view of Canada. There's also a butler phone.

This is sooooooo not Detroit.

Yet in awkward and clearly ironic ways, the $800 million, 18-story MGM Grand Detroit casino and hotel that opened late Tuesday night places a heavy wager on the belief that Detroit--long ago a prosperously noisy, lunch-bucket town where people punched time clocks--will successfully remodel itself into a city of slot machine dreams that come true in big air-conditioned rooms that have no clocks.

Beyond the bettor bravado of MGM Grand Detroit chief George Boyer, who described his complex Tuesday as having "the chic of Manhattan with the sizzle of Las Vegas," there is an unspoken, go-for-broke quality to this roll of the dice. Many of the big-paying auto manufacturing jobs that gave identity to Detroit and comfort and security to generations of families are gone and not coming back.

Nearly a third of Detroit's residents live in poverty. Thousands of abandoned homes ache to be torn down. Just a few blocks from the art deco-style casino on Third Street, unemployed men while away the afternoons on street corners or weave their bicycles down the street, oblivious to oncoming traffic.

"This is very ironic, but it's good to see that they're doing something other than the Big 3," said John Barber of Detroit, referring to General Motors, Ford and Chrysler LLC. "It's better than nothing."

An 'entertainment destination' Detroit has three casinos, including the MGM Grand. But the old MGM Grand is closing as the new MGM Grand Detroit complex opens its doors. It is the first to build an adjoining hotel and restaurant complex, what company officials call an "entertainment destination." It's a striking edifice in a generally bleak and uninspiring downtown. Like most new development in Detroit, it is an island, existing on the hope that its presence will spur new convention business and other development. Only time will tell.

Tuesday's grand opening celebration had the civic feel of a long-overdue show-and-tell. It's 3,000 jobs, with more than half of the employees living in the city. This is the biggest development in Detroit in three decades, and it attracted the California chef himself, Wolfgang Puck, as well as Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and U.S. Rep. John Conyers, (D-Mich.).

"We're competing with Las Vegas. There's nothing like this in Chicago or the Midwest," Conyers crowed of the new facility.

And while that is true, there is a whoppingly abrupt adjustment to the size and opulence of the gambling complex. The blinking and electronically bleeping gaming area, like nearly all casinos, has the feel of a nicely carpeted county fair, with familiar slot and video poker machines (4,500 of them) bearing names like "Money to Burn," "Mr. Cash Cow" and "Free Spin Plunder."

The restaurant fare is no Las Vegas glut-a-torium, and it's a far cry from the Detroit coney dog-type menu items: mussel souffle, truffled pearl pasta and cippolini onions, and seafood risotto with gulf shrimp.

The reality of paying $300 to $3,000 per night in one of America's poorest cities is an eye-popper for some, including Barbara Bowers of suburban Westland.

"I won't stay the night, unless it's a really special occasion," Bowers said. But she plans to be in the casino in the wee hours Wednesday, playing video poker.

"I think this is a beautiful building and I hope this helps [the economy]," Bowers added. "I do believe it will attract new tourism."

Foes see failure ahead Not everyone is delighted with the new casino. Kurt Metzger, research director for United Way for Southeast Michigan, said he is "amazed that the gambling industry just gets bigger and bigger and bigger, and is becoming a more prominent economic development tool across the nation."

"The citizens aren't coming out as winners ... It's like we're setting everybody up to fail," Metzger said.

But if not this, casino supporters say, then what? Michigan state government, beset by economic problems stemming from the domestic auto industry, came crashing down over the weekend after lawmakers and the governor could not reach a budget agreement. Although the shutdown ended after four hours, the impasse underscored the need to retool the state's economic engine.

Detroit gets a little more than 12 percent of its tax revenues from casinos, and as the city shrinks, casinos represent an almost singular example of growth. An estimated 86 percent of casino customers come from outside the city, and operators hope to attract new gamblers from Ohio, where there are no casinos.

Neighboring Canada, with a historically robust dollar, also represents a prime market. Windsor Casino, across the river from Detroit, contends not only with dollar issues but with a government-imposed no-smoking policy.

Billboards are scattered around the metro area, promoting a message designed to lure young people and their money.

"You're single. We have 5 lounges," reads one. "You do the math."

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

hotel to open as bookings pile up

A Prineville couple with three other hotels in Central and Eastern Oregon will open their fourth on Monday in this fast-growing town. And the city's expectations for the hotel are high.

The 72-room, three-story Inn at Cross Keys Station, located across from Safeway on U.S. Highway 26, will be the first new hotel in Madras since 1986 and will include a conference center that city leaders say will attract business and satisfy the city's growing need for group meeting space.

Rich and Sandy Priday -- a husband-wife team who also own and operate Best Western hotels in Prineville, La Pine and Burns -- say the city is long overdue for a new hotel.

"We've been looking at Madras for a long time, for at least five years," said Rich Priday. "We knew at some point in time they were going to need another hotel."

Occupancy rates at key lodging properties around the city are running around 70 percent throughout the year, Priday said.

Tax collections from lodging properties in the city were $171,826 in the 2006-07 fiscal year, which ended June 30, according to Jefferson County records. The county has collected a 9 percent room tax from lodging properties in Madras since 2001-02, according to Deena Goss, the county treasurer. The rest of the county has a 6 percent room tax.

The city's room tax contributions were 15 percent higher than 2005-06, when the county collected $149,272, and were up 52 percent from 2001-02, when the county collected $113,113.

The opening of the Deer Ridge Correctional Institution, new growth in town and funding available for building a conference center from the city's urban renewal agency "made the deal look like it would work," Rich Priday said.

Work crews were still putting the finishing touches on the 50,000-square-foot hotel's interior last week, mounting black and white photos on the walls and setting up old gun and poker chip displays in preparation for Monday's opening.

Each of the hotel's 72 rooms was outfitted with a flat-screen television and wireless Internet access, said Sandy Priday. The hotel also includes a small pool and exercise room.

The inn's completion is notable in a growing town that hasn't seen new hotel construction in more than 20 years, and the nearest convention space is at Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort & Casino on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

They're basing their hopes for success on tapping into Central Oregon's $498 million tourism industry and the growth already occurring in Madras.

"I know a lot of people go to Bend, but Madras is the gateway to Central Oregon," Sandy Priday said. "We hope to draw from all over the state, not necessarily just people coming to Madras as a destination, but the resorts in Central Oregon. There's also the businesses in the area that have had to send their convention and group meeting business to Kah-Nee-Ta, Redmond and Bend."

By 2025, Madras is expected to double in size from its current population of 6,107, according to a population forecast that city leaders say is a conservative projection.

That growth will be spurred by Yarrow, an 890-acre, 1,730-home subdivision that has started home sales on the east side of town.

"There are a lot of rooms in Madras, but it's nice to have something that feels a little bit more upscale," said Cameron Craig, project manager with Madras Land Development Co., which is developing Yarrow. "We're offering a selection of higher-end homes, and when folks come into town, they'll want to know that their guests are going to have a nice place to stay."

Business could be "skimpy" in the first few days, said Rich Priday, but convention business in October and a movie shoot in Madras in November will solidify bookings during the months when Central Oregon's tourism industry typically slows, he said.

The recent opening of the Deer Ridge prison will increase the city's population and bring more business to the hotel, he said.

The state's Department of Corrections has made three separate bookings for 40 people in October and November. State employees are in town for training and will spend four nights at the hotel and use the convention facility, Rich Priday said.

Other groups include the Jefferson County Republican Party, Soroptimists International, Mountain View Hospital District and several wedding receptions, he said.

A film crew, in Madras in November to shoot "Management," a feature film starring Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn, will take 28 rooms for 21 days during its shooting, he said.

About 10 percent of the hotel's $5 million in construction costs will be funded over five years by a $525,000 grant from the Madras Redevelopment Commission, the city's urban renewal agency.

The urban renewal district has spent $4.1 million on several projects, including property acquisition and blight removal in the downtown area, landscaping on the North Y Avenue intersection, and a grant and loan program for various businesses in the downtown area.

The grant was awarded with the criteria that the Cross Keys group include a 200-person meeting room in its hotel, said Tammy McHaney, community development specialist for the city.

"There are no meeting rooms of any sort for large groups in town or visiting town," McHaney said. "As the city grows, it's essential to have a meeting room. It's something that the people of Madras need, and it will bring revenue to the city."

Owners of the Best Western Madras Inn hope the new hotel and conference center does not take away from their business.

The 47-room Best Western has seen strong business from the Deer Ridge prison construction, said Clifford Reynolds, general manager.

"It goes without saying that they'll take a piece of everybody's pie," Reynolds said.

But the new hotel and conference center could help attract more visitors and increase room tax revenues for the city and county, said Chong Reynolds, owner of the Best Western.

"They have to know how to sell their meeting room in order to bring more traffic," Reynolds said. "We're looking for them to do a good job because it will bring more money to town."

Cross Keys' owners say the convention facility will generate overflow business that will benefit all other hotels in the city, including Best Western.

"We want a good relationship with other hotels in the city. We will work with them to give them rooms. Seventy-two rooms is not that many rooms," Rich Priday said.

Mayor Jason Hale, who owns Ahern's Grocery & Deli just next to the new hotel, said he expects the new hotel and conference center to benefit all businesses, including other hotels.

"The more businesses we have here, the more it will attract people," Hale said. "Every business is unique. I don't see how it could hurt our city's diversification."

The new hotel and conference center will add about 20 new jobs, Rich Priday said. Cross Keys will be part of a 20-acre development that could include stores, a bank and possibly a drive-through restaurant fronting the highway, he said. Part of the 20 acres also could include a townhome development.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Keane offers strategy for boosting tourism

Tourism is Erie County's "new economy," and government should boost its investment in the arts and cultural attractions that bring people here, Democrat James P. Keane said Thursday.

Keane, a candidate for county executive, stood on the steps of Albright-Knox Art Gallery to announce a strategy that would dramatically change the way the county funds and manages its tourism and convention efforts.

"We have presidential history, America's finest architecture, Olmsted parks and music, art and theater to fill our hearts and stir our souls," Keane said. "It will be my job to make sure the rest of the world has a chance to experience and delight in our wonderful treasures."

The centerpiece of Keane's strategy is a two-pronged change in how the county funds tourism.

First, he wants to give all of the county's hotel bed tax revenue to the Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors Bureau. The county currently uses a portion of the bed tax for other purposes.

Keane also wants to set aside up to 3 percent of the county's property tax revenue for local arts and cultural groups. Similar ideas have been proposed by County Executive Joel A. Giambra and Democratic county lawmakers.

But it's not just money that Keane wants to give to the tourism community. He also wants a plan for how to spend it wisely, and a big part of that is better marketing of all arts and cultural groups.

To accomplish that, Keane wants to create a tourism task force to develop and promote theme-based marketing. He also wants an audit of tourism groups and attractions to determine their needs.

In an unrelated campaign development, Republican Christopher Collins made public a letter criticizing Keane for his recent allegations about Collins' record as a manager at the Westinghouse Gear Division in Cheektowaga.

The letter, signed by nine former Westinghouse employees, lambastes Keane for his claim that Collins' 1983 purchase of the Gear Division led to the rest of the Westinghouse plant closing years later.

"It is sad to see Mr. Keane distort facts and try to rewrite history," the letter states, "but that can be expected from a professional politician."

The letter supports Collins' claim that he bought the Gear Division well before the rest of the plant closed and well after Westinghouse sold off several others units.

The nine employees who signed it currently work at Nuttall Gear, the company Collins formed when he and four others bought the Westinghouse unit.

Keane called the letter campaign propaganda.

"Chris Collins claimed he saved jobs," Keane said in a statement. "His governmentsupported purchase of the Gear Division and his relocation of those jobs to Niagara County had a harmful impact on the Erie County economy that lasts until this day."