Monday, March 08, 2010

DeLeo's Slots Plan in a Nutshell

Sounds great, right?

For proof, head to Bensalem, where Parx - formerly called PhiladelphiaPark Racetrack - made $400 million last year. Impressive for a not-spot plopped among strip malls.

Inside the smoke-filled slots box, much of what casino bosses took for granted has changed. Gone are the days of wooing "whales" and dissing grannies in fanny packs. Parx president Dave Jonas says his revenue comes almost exclusively from local low rollers."

We underestimated significantly how many trips our customers were going to make," Jonas said at last month's Pennsylvania Gaming Congress in Valley Forge.

"When I was in Atlantic City, to have 12 to 15 trips out of customers, they were VIPs," Jonas said. At Parx, "it's not uncommon for us to have 150 to 200 trips.

"Moderator Michael Pollock, a well-regarded casino analyst, paused to digest the statistic."You said 150 to 200 times a year," he repeated. "That's three to four times a week, essentially."

"Yes," Jonas confirmed, most of his players fit that profile. In fact, because Parx players tend to live within 20 miles of Street Road, many go even more frequently.

Just remember, DeLeo wants 4 of these across Massachusetts -- in addition to 2 more casinos, which will prey on the same people, plus even more from the wider region by targeting the services that keep competing small businesses afloat -- food, drink, entertainment, shopping and more -- who may not (initially) come strictly for the slots, but at great cost to small businesses and neighbors in the region.

6 comments:

truthtopower said...

...and remember legalizing one slot machine opens the door for the federally recognized Native American tribes to have sovereign casinos. 2 + 2 = 4 casinos, with six more tribes pending recognition.

One slot machine is one slot machine too many.

KG Lefty said...

Ah, the prohibitionists ....don't forget the taverns too ...

Middleboro Remembers said...

Wait until the crime statistics become available. That's when local folks will recognize their costs.

Why does anyone in Massachusetts believe we're immune to what's happened elsewhere?

Ryan said...

KG -- no one's trying to "prohibit" gambling. There's plenty of other gambling. One type, however, has a particularly detrimental effect on people, families, schools, communities and local businesses. Slots don't grow jobs or revenue for states -- in the end, when everything's tallied together, they end up costing states hundreds of millions. That's why New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey all have slot machines... and all have *higher taxes*.

But, by all means, I'm willing to "bet" my facts are right. Let the state fund a comprehensive, independent cost-benefit analysis. Let's see where the chips really fall. Seems to me DeLeo and Murray have been too scared to do one because they know a truly comprehensive study would end up making it much, much harder for them to push slots, slot parlors, racinos and casinos on the state.

Gladys Kravitz said...

KG, your comment labeling expanded gambling opponents as prohibitionist shows your ignorance. People have good reason to oppose this industry. I would appreciate you getting your facts straight before posting such comments in the future.

You might want to start here.

Anonymous said...

FYI Just in case our wonderful Democratic lords sell us out, MGM is selling at 11.67 a share (near a 3 year low). You can make a personal killing as the ship sinks.

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