The folks over at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods are not showing much concern over a proposed casino in the southern tail of the Catskill Mountains of New York state. And they shouldn”™t be concerned.
The plan by the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe still has a way to go, including a major approval from the U.S. Department of the Interior since the land does not belong to the tribe.
In our humble opinion, we think if the casino does get built, it will draw from those New Yorkers who normally head to Atlantic City, which is a headache to get to, unless you take a plane. It”™s still quicker to shoot up I-95 to get to Uncasville and there are no tolls like on the Garden State Parkway.
Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods are in a great location ”“ pulling in players from throughout New England and the eastern portion of New York state. The two casinos have done well branding themselves and expanding.
“I think the standard rule of thumb in this business is if you want to compete with an established gaming resort, you need to build it on comparable scale. That”™s one of the reasons we are not worried,” said Bruce MacDonald, spokesman for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, which operates Foxwoods.
Mitchell Etess, president and chief executive officer at Mohegan Sun, said: “We”™ve been refining our product for years. We”™re going to make it as difficult as possible for people to decide not to come here.”
And if the New York casino gets built, we don”™t think the predictions will be as dire as those by the Center for Policy Analysis at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. According to the school”™s study, Foxwoods would lose approximately $189 million per year from New York patrons and Mohegan Sun, $221 million.
The two casinos had combined gross gaming revenues of nearly $2.4 billion in 2005. Not too shabby.
Competition is good and there”™s certainly enough money to go around; revenues totaled $22.6 billion last year of the 391 Indian gaming operations nationwide.
So, bring it on New York, let”™s see what you come up with.
