Foxwoods Appears to Cut Back on Gambling, Diversify Revenues

New Foxwoods CEO Felix Rappaport hopes that new attractions helps the resort weather increased competition in the region.
New Foxwoods CEO Felix Rappaport states that the casino resort plans to cut back a bit on its gambling focus and diversify its offerings is an endeavor to endure against an onslaught of new competitors in the location. The idea will be to offer more nightclubs and other tourist attractions that may bring in new customers who aren’t necessarily drawn by way of a gaming-first resort.
‘We think we have too gaming that is much’ Rappaport said plainly in a interview ladbrokes casino slot machine with the Associated Press.
Cutbacks Are Overdue, Rappaport Says
According to Rappaport, the move is one that the resort should probably are making years ago, whenever the number of those who had been entering the Foxwoods casino to gamble each started to drop day. He is maybe not planning to eliminate gaming by any means, or also severely curtail it; instead, it’ll be a subdued relocate to make room for more options at the resort.
Appropriate now, the southeastern Connecticut casino has about 5,800 slots and 350 table games spread out across a few gambling enterprises on the property. Rappaport intends to eliminate some gaming areas to bring those numbers down to around 4,800 and 250, correspondingly.
Competition in Neighboring States Hurting Foxwoods
Rappaport’s plan is an answer towards the competition that is growing round the northeastern usa. The two Native American casino resorts in Connecticut along with the 2008 recession, new casinos in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island along with racinos in the New York City area have eroded the player base for Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Now, with more casinos coming to Massachusetts and New York next few years, Rappaport believes it’s time to discover a path that is new.
Rappaport was named CEO of Foxwoods week that is last the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which operates the resort. That statement came after he joined Foxwoods in February included in a group that ended up being brought in to expand the resort’s nightlife, restaurants and retail offerings. Previously, Rappaport served as the elected president at Excalibur, brand New York-New York, and Luxor in Las Vegas.
At those casinos, Rappaport saw that bringing in non-gaming tourist attractions helped generate new customers, something he thinks can happen at Foxwoods as well.
‘The industry in general has become less gaming centric,’ Rappaport said. ‘I think in Foxwoods’ instance we have exactly the exact same possibilities.’
Mohegan Sun Not Expecting to Make Drastic Modifications
Mohegan Sun, located simply a miles that are few Foxwoods, is dealing with lots of equivalent pressures as its neighbor. But that resort’s Tribal Gaming Authority CEO Mitchell Etess says that they will not be making any drastic modifications beyond what they will have already done.
‘I think we’ve really done a good job at getting the floor down to just what’s manageable and what’s right and then scheduling it for the times when the folks are right here,’ Etess told analysts within a meeting call last week.
Foxwoods has made efforts to expand their brand name throughout the northeast as casino gambling has exploded in the region, but has not been successful therefore far. The company proposed a casino for Philadelphia that received a license in 2006, but the project never got from the ground, and the license was revoked in belated 2010. The company also attempted to compete for a casino that is boston-area Massachusetts, but ended up being rebuffed by voters in Milford.
Atlantic City Casinos Spark Bankruptcy Court Battles
Donald Trump is hoping to be recoup money he paid towards the landlord of the driveway that led to the former Trump Plaza. (Image: NBCPhiladephia.com)
Atlantic City’s closed (and closing) casinos are in the guts of several interesting storylines currently occurring in bankruptcy courts. From battles over driveways to questions about unpaid taxes, bankruptcy judges are looking at several different situations regarding struggling resorts in the New Jersey town.
In the 1st problem, real-estate tycoon Donald Trump is hoping to recover funds he paid to the landlord of the driveway that lead up to what was the Trump Plaza casino, which closed in September that he says. Trump claims he now only holds a ten percent stake in that he paid $147,000 to the landlord, despite the fact that the money was actually owed by Trump Entertainment Resorts, a company. He’s now submitted a court filing to recover those funds.
Donald Wants Repayment from Trump Entertainment
According to Trump, who also sent a letter to R&R Associates (the landlord of this driveway), he just agreed to pay the rent ‘in order to avoid litigation’ for the time being. He now thinks he should be ‘reimbursed by the debtor,’ by which he means Trump Entertainment. The business did maybe not answer the claim.
It’s maybe not the dispute that is only Trump and the company that still bears his name.
Trump and his daughter are suing Trump Entertainment in an attempt to remove the Trump name from their gambling enterprises. The Trump name has mostly been eliminated during the now-closed Plaza, but Trump Entertainment has refused to do the exact same at the Trump Taj Mahal. The Trumps say that the resorts have fallen into disrepair, breaking an excellent agreement and harming the Trump brand name.
Several Casino Tax Issues to be Decided
Meanwhile, there are additionally several tax issues that are currently being fixed in court. On a Delaware bankruptcy court approved a deal between Trump Entertainment and Atlantic City that will allow the city to hold a tax sale of the $24 million in unpaid taxes owed to them by the company tuesday. An investor can buy a lien against the company and agree to pay the taxes due in a tax sale. In the event that property owner will pay off the taxes, the investor gets paid; if that doesn’t happen after two years, the investor has the right to foreclose on the house. The income tax purchase is scheduled to just take place on 11, just one day before the Taj Mahal may close december.
The former Revel Casino Hotel is also embroiled in tax issues. On the owners filed an appeal of a bankruptcy court order that would have allowed Atlantic City to hold a tax sale of their $32 million in unpaid property taxes monday. The town asked for a taxation sale after the $110 million purchase regarding the Revel by A canadian firm fell through. The arises from that purchase had been likely to be used to spend off the taxes that are back.
Taj Mahal Wishes Union to Drop Appeal
There has also been movement in the battle that is ongoing the Trump Taj Mahal and the union workers who’ve appealed a bankruptcy court order that cancelled their medical health insurance. Trump Entertainment president Robert Griffin now says that while the company still intends to shut the casino on December 12, they’re willing to commit to restoring health that is full benefits to users of Local 54 of this Unite-HERE casino employees union if the union will agree to drop their appeal.
The deal would include contributions to also a pension plan for workers. The union had with the cancellation of their contract, the company is hoping that resolving the largest complaints will lead the union to agree to accept the rest of the court order while these are not the only issues.
London Hosts First Ever Bitcoin Gaming Conference
Bitcoin4iGaming: Topics up for conversation in London were the regulation that is potential of gaming and the financial future of bitcoin. (igamingbusiness.com)
Bitcoin4iGaming, the planet’s first ever bitcoin gaming conference, was held in London this week, as crypto-currency entrepreneurs and video gaming execs descended on Dexter House, a location, appropriately enough, situated beside the Royal that is former Mint. a wide range of problems were up for discussion, from the possible regulation of bitcoin gaming to the financial future of bitcoin and alternative currencies, as operators, investors and affiliates seized the opportunity to network and exchange some ideas.
‘The Bitcoin4iGaming Conference is dedicated to the possibilities Bitcoin and other virtual currencies present to the iGaming sector,’ explained organizers iGaming Business Magazine. ‘The event provides the crypto-currency world and also the world that is iGaming in order to eradicate friction in iGaming payment processing and popularizing the use of crypto-currencies in digital transactions.’
Bitcoin Foundation Executive Director Jon Matonis was the opening keynote speaker and he mentioned the advantages of utilizing currencies that are alternative the on line gambling sector, from the cap ability to target clients all around the world, to the zero chargeback risks and the reduction of fraud.
Regulation for Bitcoin
There clearly was additionally a perspective that is regulatory offer from representatives of several on line gambling licensing jurisdictions who talked about their efforts to acknowledge the part of bitcoin in the sector. The Isle of Man, in particular, has announced that its long-term ambition is build an environment that allows bitcoin businesses to thrive and is looking at the chance for making a framework of regulation for the nascent currency.
Also among the speakers was entrepreneur Brock Pierce, a pioneer of the market for electronic currency and co-founder and managing partner of Crypto Currency Partners (CCP). an investor that is prolific has led more than 30 acquisitions throughout his career, Pierce is a much sought-after commentator on the Bitcoin economy and sits on the Board regarding the Bitcoin Foundation.
Breakout Gaming Fails to split Out
In related news, Breakout Gaming, the very first gambling site to utilize its very very own crypto-currency, the Breakout Coin (BRO), has reported disappointing initial fundraising efforts. The company held a ‘crowdsale’ fundraising effort which ended this week, where it offered up 4 million BRO’s for purchase in an ‘Initial Coin Offering,’ because of the value of one bitcoin equal to 6,000 BRO. Breakout Gaming raised just 387 bitcoin (presently equal to around $136,000), falling well brief of its 1,000 bitcoin goal.
Breakout Gaming is just a bid that is bold bring alt-currency video gaming to a mainstream market. Announced in September with a string of celebrity poker player ambassadors in tow, including Johnny Chan, Huck Seed, Jennifer Harman and Ted Forrest, the business is pursuing a permit through the jurisdiction of Kahnawake and, on launch, will offer you poker and casino gaming and fantasy activities. In addition to BRO, customers will be able to use bitcoin and currencies that are regular play.
Gian Perroni, head of advertising at Breakout, put the disappointing results down to bad timing. ‘When we first launched our crowdsale bitcoin was in a free fall, which cast a chill with potential purchasers, not merely for our project but for the crypto community in general,’ he stated.
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