Editorial: Gaming bubble not ready to burst

Tuesday, February 27, 2007  

"With so much potential wampum out there, it seems inevitable that more Indian casinos are coming.

As the two big dogs in the fight, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are the subject of a lot of speculation about their vulnerability to new casino expansion to the right and left, or the east and west of them, if you will. Federal recognition of the Mashpee Wampanoags in southeastern Massachusetts lays open the possibility of a new casino somewhere between Boston and Providence.

And whether or not that happens, the Narragansetts in Rhode Island want to get their hands on some form of slots action. Having been drubbed recently in a statewide referendum that would have provided them a casino in West Warwick with a Las Vegas partner, the Narragansetts are now saying that they should be able to have electronic gaming without a statewide approval by voters because the state of Rhode Island already engages in that same activity.

Further, the Las Vegas partners with the Narragansetts are not easily deterred. Despite two now decisive votes throughout the state, you can bet a pile of chips that the big gambling operators will be visiting the Rhode Island legislature again to make their case. A big-time casino near Providence would be a natural.

To the west, the long-promised emergence of casinos in the Borscht Belt of the Catskills, just an easy drive up from New York City and New Jersey via the New York Throughway and the Quickway, is now more likely to happen around Monticello, N.Y. This is a region that needs jobs because much of the territory has for decades secured its money from the fishing and hunting trips that attract visitors. The arrival of casinos would change the region from a place of outdoor recreation to one of indoor pursuits."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Is There A Gaming Bubble? (The New London Day 2/27)
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