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Suffolk Downs, city might have been just a teensy bit overoptimistic about casino revenue
By adamg on Wed, 09/18/2013 - 11:10pm
OK, make that so ridiculously overoptimistic that one casino expert actually chuckled when he heard the numbers.
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Comments
I'll never get it.
Why do so many people think they can win big at casinos?
Because some people do win big at casinos
The other 99% subsidize the house. But it doesn't stop idiots from trying.
Gotta love slot players - they subsidize a lot of horse racing in this country, the last game where people might actually win money, as you don't play against the house and they only take 15-25%. The stupid and lazy subsidize the thinking man's game. Sometimes gaming works.
Thinking man's game?? Bwah
Thinking man's game?? Bwah hah hah!!! Who's the idiot now?
Will's right
Yes, I wrote that, but at least in this case, it is true.
People do make a living pouring over statistics to ascertain which horse will most likely win a race. Of course, the way the betting system is set up, if everyone uses the statistics in a similar way and wins, the payout goes down.
Horse racing is the thinking man game. Poker is the game of the person who can convince and read other people. Every other kind of wagering is pure guessing.
On a personal note, no, I don't make money on the horses. I have walked out of tracks with more money than I have walked in with, but when I get emotional ("that name is great for a horse") I feel luck walking out with 80% of my bankroll.
Bring back the Mass Cap!
Not quite the last
Poker is also generally a winning game over time for players with enough skill/bankroll. That skill can be, as Waquiot said, the ability to read other players and not be read by them, or like horse betting it can be understanding the statistics well enough to make bets that pay off over time. The best players have a mix of both.
And with poker, the house takes less than 10%.
Who won the under over on this
Had to come out sooner or later - I'd say I'm surprised it took this long for this story to emerge. Just like on job creation for tax breaks - they buy whatever the businesses sell them. Talk about suckers.
Did anyone buy into the huge
Did anyone buy into the huge revenue figures they were spouting when trying to pass this thing? Well, other than the pols.
The more this casino thing rolls out, the more I realize it will be just like everything else we do in this state. And then 10 years from now we'll have a different set of pols scratching their heads - shocked that the revenue numbers aren't coming in. Of course the ones that pushed for this will be long gone. Typical. And who has any confidence in Crosby's "commission"?
And it'll mostly be Boston money
Here is a telling quote from the article trying to explain why this casino might actually rake it in like they hope:
The pols are trying to sell this as a destination resort, but in East Boston this slot barn will suck our working class dry. Typically, 85% of casino patrons come from the local area. Kudos to Bill Walczak for pointing out these facts in a big ad in the Eastie Times this week (Page 3).
Typical politician psychosis
To get out of state or even out of city revenues on a consistent basis, good highway access is mandatory. That's what is most lacking, so the good news is casino's might provide an extra bit of justification for needed highway expansion.
Politicians also have a disconnect with reality when claiming the benefits of traffic snarling "pedestrian friendly" street features, which don't actually show reductions in accidents and deaths. The pipe dreams on how many people will ditch their cars for bicycles again seems LSD fed.
Why would casino projects be any different?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MK6TXMsvgQg
Your peers are not impressed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJXU7EVXs2A
Interesting way to tie in bicycles
Since you love bikes so much, Mark, maybe you'd be interested to know that the mitigation agreement prescribes full bike access to the casino, you know for the out of state bike trekkers.
All traffic problems Solved!
I am so relieved that nobody will be driving there! Yet more psychosis from politicians?
Send Them A Message: Vote NO!!!
Vote NO!!!
In Revere, most of the City Council candidates are running unopposed, and the few challengers sound no different than the incumbents. As voters, we have little chance of making meaningful changes at City Hall this year, however we can send a strong message of discontent by handing them a resounding defeat of the casino referendum.
It's a horrible deal for Revere; vote NO!!!
Casino's
It comes down to how much of a lie will people believe. Proponents will say just about anything to get this built. 'Destination' casino my a$$. Does anyone really believe that someone from another part of the country is going to say: "Gee, I'd like to check out that casino in East Boston." This will negatively hit the people around here that can least afford to be in a casino to begin with.
That aside, from what I've been reading the CT casino's are not doing all that well lately. At what point do we start getting negative returns? How much is too much?
It's pie-in-the-sky.
You betcha
I think what will happen is people who like to gamble will turn to their significant other and suggest a trip to Boston. S.O. is a lot more likely to agree to go along to Boston, where there are tons of things for the non-gambler to do while gambler plays (museums, shopping, cultchah) and they can meet back up to do things together. Compare that to Foxwoods/Mohegan which has some shopping and other amenities at the casino but nothing much to do in the immediate area. You have to take a car and drive to Mystic, etc.
Location issues
If they're hoping to cash in on Boston cultchah, East Boston is an awkward place to put it. Good luck to some poor person trying to convince a cab driver to take them back to Suffolk Downs while their SO is hunkered down at a slot machine.
Putting it near the airport and basically nothing else makes it a fly in, fly out spot. Also, if you think a casino is going to willingly give up diners, shoppers or anything else to the sights of Boston, you've got another thing coming. A casino's goal is to keep you within its walls from the moment you arrive until ten minutes before your flight boards whether you're gambling or just buying overpriced sparkly things from the chain stores in the lobby.
Jet Set slots players
Yeah, right. The low-rollers will fly into town!
Casino's (possessive)
Interesting that you used the possessive form "Casino's", as in things owned by a casino (e.g.: politicians).
One of the challengers running for Revere City Council does the same thing on his website.
Bonus question: How many other grammatical errors and web design gaffes can you find on the "Hello I am a short description about George, Hello I am a short description about George," website.
KEEP THE CASINO OUT OF EAST BOSTON!!!!!
Keep the Casino out of East Boston!! Weylus chinese resturaunt on route 1 saugas is still for lease, build the casino in weylus !Majority of Casino culture crowd live in that area... CASINO BELONGS ON ROUTE 1 SAUGUS...East Boston has waited a lifetime to develop the waterfront, Transform an old train track system in to a fabulous park system, Old mills converted into Luxury Lofts, Boutique Hotel in the works for Border street, 2 bedroom condos selling for over $250, 000, a Casino would make this community go backwards ...And I hope the end result will be a city wide vote..
Casino culture
I have to say, your post makes a certain degree of sense. Demographically "majority of casino culture crowd live in that area (Saugus)" may be more accurate than people realize. But of course, the casino is not being built for the locals (but in spite of them), it is being built as a destination. I fear those of us in East Boston are doomed. Despite all the theater, this casino thing is bought and paid for, and casinos do not make good neighbors.
And how long will it take the
And how long will it take the casino owners to back out of the traffic mitigation work because of lower-than-expected revenues? My bet (har har har) is less than a year.