You better .... or else
We all know the old threat - that "(insert town or state here) had better cut a deal with the Mashpee Wampanoag or else they'll build a class II casino and you'll get nothing"
I've been saying for months now that the economics of class II bingo halls just don't work and that without full class III slots, the Middleboro Bingo Hall and Resort will never be built. Casino proponents(who have yet to adequately define the benefits) respond with the example of the Seminole who built a huge gaming empire on class II slots.
The Seminole were able to do so because the nearest "real" casino was 500 miles away. Even with this monopoly, they still fell all over themselves to sign a deal with the state of Florida for class III slots. That tells you how essential class III slots are. The Mashpee Bingo Hall will never compete withe the RI racinos and the CT casinos without them.
Well, the chances of a class II facility just got a lot worse.
Class II slots earn far less then their class II counterparts since players are playing against each other - not against the house. With these changes, they won't look, feel, and play like class III slots. In other words they won't look like a duck, walk like a duck, or quack like a duck. They'll be more like a three-toed sloth.
At this point the state of Massachusetts had made it clear that they have no interest in casinos and even less interest in Indian casinos. The next sound you hear will be the bluster of Scott Ferson and the Tribe threatening to sue for class III gaming due to Las Vegas charity nights. This will play well in the press but is meaningless. Even if they were to win such a suit, it would be many years in the future and would still not include slot machines. A lawsuit of this stripe would be nothing more than and expensive PR gamble intended to force Massachusetts to .... you guessed it ... "Sign now, or else".
8 comments:
Who's job is it to regulate the 60% of the current class 2 bingo slots which are unlawful (the Feds, the state police)?
Bumpkin, you have only a superficial understanding of the viability of Class II slots. They are profitable, and if, and it is a big if, that the NIGC is able to pass the proposed Class II regulations, they will have little effect on the profits of Class II gaming. The new Class II machines will be legal under the proposed new regs. It is some of the old Class II machines, especially in Oklahoma, that resemble Class III machines that will be illegal, and are possibly illegal right now. It would be a mistake for the State to not negotiate with the Tribe. If the State hadn't legalized gambling this wouldn't be an issue. Where were the citizens when this was happening? Now that the Tribe has the right to do gaming under Federal law, the conscientious citizens come out in droves.
"Bumpkin, you have only a superficial understanding of the viability of Class II slots. They are profitable, and if, and it is a big if, that the NIGC is able to pass the proposed Class II regulations, they will have little effect on the profits of Class II gaming."
I never said C2 slots weren't profitable. They are not nearly as profitable as C3 slots. A class II facility will not be able to compete with Twin Rivers, Newport Grand, Mohegan Sun, and Foxwoods. In the right location, sufficiently isolated from "real" competition, class 2 is viable. In Middleboro where the Tribe is obliged to spend up to $200M in infrastructure alone - the ROI is not there. Something like 70% of casino revenue comes from class III slots. No slots, no ROI, no casino.
As far as having "little effect on the profits" I tend to doubt that judging by the complaints from the Indian community. From what I've read, the new slots will play much slower and much less like class III slots - and thus will earn less money. If you have some other information comparing the current class II slots and the ones that will adhere to the new regulations, please supply a source so we can all see it.
As it is right now - you're just an anonymous poster with no references to back up your argument.
The idea that the investors will part with a billion dollars to build a class II Bingo Hall is bordering on ludicrous. The Aquinnah have had the right to build a class II facility for 21 years and it hasn't happened yet. The tribe and investors(an apparently you) are going to make a lot of noise about the inevitability of a class II facility that in reality has little chance of being built.
As far as me having a "superficial understanding of the viability of class II slots", please enlighten us all to your identity and qualifications to question my qualifications. Being anonymous you don't have a leg to stand on w/regards to credibility.
Scott - I think regulation would fall to the National Indian Gaming Commission but I'm not 100% sure on that.
http://www.nigc.gov/
Bumpkin, I don't have a bone in this fight (indeed I live over 3,000 miles away). I am anonymous because I don't want to embarrass my client. You are wrong, the Class II slots do play look, feel, and play like Class III slots. (BTW, I don't work for a gaming manufacturer.) As a matter of fact, if the Mashpee opened a Class II casino, then later negotiated with the state for a Class III casino, it is only a matter of putting in a chip to changed from Class II to Class III.
What the Seminoles wanted (and other sole Class II tribes) is the addition of table gaming in a Class III casino. You may be right on the financing not working for a Class II casino. That is a lot of do-ree-me for a Class II casino.
If the State of MA had not legalized Class II gaming, the tribe would not have a right under Federal law to open a Class II casino or negotiate for a Class III casino.
If you owned land zoned commercial and your neighbors didn't want you to put in a business, how would you feel?
You're wrong. The tribe has a right for class II no matter what. That goes for every state in the union. The are entitled to negotiate a compact for whatever class III is legal in the state.
It is doubtful that the state can be compelled to enter into a class III compact at all - regardless of what is legal in the state.
Under IGRA, tribes are given the right to conduct gaming activities on Indian lands if the gaming does not violate federal law and if it is conducted within a state that does not, as a matter of criminal law and public policy, prohibit such gaming. When a state allows a gaming activity for "any purpose by any person, organization or entity," it does not, by law, consider that gaming to be contrary to public policy. Therefore, a state may ban a certain Indian game only if it bans that game in all circumstances. MA allows gambling by state law. If it did not, then the tribe would not be able to conduct gaming.
Under IGRA, tribes are given the right to conduct gaming activities on Indian lands if the gaming does not violate federal law and if it is conducted within a state that does not, as a matter of criminal law and public policy, prohibit such gaming. When a state allows a gaming activity for "any purpose by any person, organization or entity," it does not, by law, consider that gaming to be contrary to public policy. Therefore, a state may ban a certain Indian game only if it bans that game in all circumstances. MA allows gambling by state law. If it did not, then the tribe would not be able to conduct gaming.
Yes you are correct. Class I can be done regardless of state law. Class II can be done if it is legal in the state. I think my mistake was because class II is so common that it is almost a given that Tribes can do class II
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