Issue 253
July 18 - July 24, 2005
Volume 5
page 2
 

Tribal casino success spawns hotel growth
As Reported by CITIZEN-TIMES.com

CHEROKEE, North Carolina - Harrah's Cherokee Casino will double its hotel capacity Friday with the official opening of the $60-million Soco Tower.

With 324 rooms, including 21 suites, this second tower will bring the casino's overnight guest capacity to 576 rooms.

The tower represents another economic leap for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, which owns the casino. Managed by Harrah's, the casino generates more than $155 million in profits for the tribe. Except for a percentage paid to Harrah's for managing the casino, that money is split between tribal functions and tribe members.

Per capita checks, which the tribe's about 11,600 enrolled members receive twice per year, will this year total more than $8,000 per person, said Principal Chief Michell Hicks.

Demand for the Soco Tower rooms already exists: 82 percent of the casino's operational rooms are booked through the weekend, according to Lynne Harlan, public relations assistant for the casino.

Unlike the existing Mountain Tower, which has common areas and houses a public art collection, there is no public space in the second tower. Construction took about 18 months and the new space will add about 75 positions to the Harrah's staff of about 1,800 employees.

The casino was designed with expansion in mind and additional rooms are "always a consideration," Harlan said.

Soco Tower's opening coincides with a push by the tribe to amend its gaming agreement with the state.

Hicks has met twice in the past two months with Gov. Mike Easley and plans another meeting in the coming weeks. Hicks is pushing for live gaming as opposed to the computerized gambling the casino is restricted to now, saying it would help the casino stay competitive.

The casino has about 3,200 machines, including slot machines, Digital 21, Lock-N-Roll, Wild Cherry, The Price Is Right, Wheel of Fortune and Raffle Reels.

Hicks also wants the compact's cap lifted on the number of casinos on the Cherokee land, the Qualla Boundary. Currently that number is one. Hicks argues that the Cherokee should determine the number of casinos they build.

"Let the market bear it out," he said.

Sherri Johnson, a spokeswoman with the governor's office, said in an e-mail message that the talks are still in the "very early stages." A past renegotiation of the compact took a year to complete, she said.

 

 

 


Stanley Leisure takes £100m gamble on revamping casinos
As Reported by edinburghnews.com

UNITED KINGDOM - STANLEY Leisure, the British gambling group, today outlined plans to invest more than £100 million over the next five years on revamping its casinos.

The group, whose 41-strong casino portfolio includes three venues in Edinburgh, is making the investment to cash in on the relaxation of UK gaming laws.

Money will be targeted at raising the number of slot machines in its four London casinos and 37 regional casinos as well as refurbishing a number of sites.

Details emerged as Stanley, which agreed to sell off its betting shops to William Hill in May for £504m, posted a four per cent fall in pre-tax profits before goodwill amortisation of £40.1m during the year to May 1. Chief executive Bob Wiper said: "In aggregate these plans could add over 50 per cent to the size of our gaming floor space over the next five years."

Stanley will return £325m to shareholders - equivalent to 250 pence a share - once the deal with William Hill is completed.
Buying the betting shops ensured William Hill leapfrogged Ladbrokes as the UK's biggest bookmaker. Profits from Stanley's casinos increased 30 per cent during the year under review to £33.7m and the group said its new financial year had begun "satisfactorily".

Giving his response to deregulation in the gaming industry, Mr Wiper said the final shape of the Gambling Act 2005 "was not what any of us expected" and a long way from the free market that was initially recommended. But it contained a number of positive points including changes to membership rules, increased stake levels and more slot machines.

"We are making plans to capture the benefits of the relaxation of the membership and marketing rules as soon as the new Act is implemented," Mr Wiper added.


Magna won't seek Pa. horse racing license
As Reported by Yahoo! Finance

The Canadian horse racing company that had flirted with seeking a thoroughbred license in Pennsylvania for more than a year and a half is now officially a scratch.

Magna Entertainment Corp., the Toronto-based horse racing company that owns such prominent American thoroughbred racetracks as Santa Anita Park in Arcadia Calif., Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. and Pimlico in Baltimore, told the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission Friday that it is withdrawing from the license race in Pennsylvania.

MEC's withdrawal leaves three applicants for the state's last thoroughbred license.

Through its subsidiary, MEC Pennsylvania Racing, MEC runs The Meadows, the standardbred racing track in Meadow Lands, Washington County.

The horse racing commission plans to hold public meetings in the fall at the site of the two Allegheny County sites and the one Northampton County site that have been proposed for Pennsylvania's next thoroughbred track.

Gregg Scoggins, national director of Regulatory Affairs for MEC, said he informed the horse racing commission that MEC was withdrawing and would follow that up with a letter of withdrawal.
Scoggins wouldn't say why MEC was withdrawing, but with the state's gaming law not guaranteeing a slots license to the owner of the racetrack, the interest in the license deteriorated.

Pennsylvania has two thoroughbred tracks and two standardbred tracks. Presque Isle Downs, another thoroughbred racetrack, is going to be built in Summit Township near Erie.

The planners of the track, MTR Gaming Group Inc. owners of the Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort in Chester W. Va., are working on a timeline for the track's construction.

Damian Marley

Palms Casino Resort: Damian Marley a.k.a "Junior Gong" jams at the Skin Pool Lounge, August 2.

Date: August 2

Time: 9:00pm

Ticket Price: $10

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