Sarno calls slots idea 'urban disaster'
Date: 12/16/2010
Dec. 15, 2010By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
Slots in Springfield?
One of the partners in the group trying to bring casino gambling to Wyckoff Country Club in Holyoke has made a suggestion to jump-start expanded gaming in the state: establish temporary slot machine parlors.
Anthony Ravosa, Jr. of Paper City Development Company told Reminder Publications that both House Speaker Robert DeLeo and State Sen. Stanley Rosenberg have shown interest in the idea.
The concept has become "food for thought for Beacon Hill," he said. "It has kind of energized the discussion [of expanded gaming] again."
The locations would be state-owned facilities, such as the Bayside Expo Center in Dorchester and the Exhibition Hall of Springfield's MassMutual Center. The state could also lease Suffolk Downs, Wonderland or Raynham Park for the slot parlors as well, he said.
What Ravosa has proposed is to establish one or two temporary slot parlors that would be owned by the state and operated by the state's Gaming Commission. The slot parlors would be closed when permanent casino resorts are opened.
While the state would own the slot facilities, private companies chosen through a competitive bidding procedure would manage them.
Ravosa said the move would "allow the Commonwealth to have a real life picture [on expanded gambling] without a permanent commitment."
And because the state would own the slots, it would received 100 percent of the profit, which Ravosa has estimated at $365 million a year — based on $250 in daily revenue per machine times 2,000 slot machines in each facility.
"With the size of the state deficit, we can't afford not to look at it," Ravosa said.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno doesn't find the idea attractive, though. While he said he is "very supportive of the 'casino is the woods' [concept]," he can't endorse the idea of a slots parlor in the heart of the city.
"With all due respect to the parties involved, I don't think that's a good idea," he said. He then called a downtown slots parlor "an urban disaster."
He believes it would "prey on the vulnerable part of a society that is economically challenged."
Springfield voters twice voted against the concept of a casino located in the city in 1994 and 1996.
Ravosa, a former Springfield City Councilor, believes the facilities could be up and earning money for the state in a little as three to four months.
If the slot parlor became a reality for Springfield, Ravosa proposes the management company would be required to develop "an arts, entertainment and events plan . to enhance utilization of the MassMutual Center Arena, Springfield Symphony Hall and CityStage."
Ravosa does not want any foodservice at the slots parlor to compete with downtown restaurants and would ask the management company to issue promotional vouchers and coupons to area eateries.
He believes the occupancy rate in area hotels and motels would increase from the slot parlor as would use of parking lots operated by the Springfield Parking Authority.
Make no mistake, though, Ravosa's company is interested in bringing a resort casino to Western Massachusetts and not getting into the slots business on a short-term basis. One of the provisions of his plan would be that any gaming company interested in the management of the temporary slot parlors be prohibited from competing for a resort casino license in a location within a 50-mile radius of a temporary slot parlor.
"Our ultimate goal is to make Holyoke happen," Ravosa asserted.
Dec. 15, 2010
