STATESIDE
Stateside H
Sharon Harris finds patience is a virtue
appy New Year! You are reading this in January, but as I wrote this in late December, I looked back on 2011. You never know how 12 months can affect your professional and personal life. As I
reflected on my 18 years in gaming, I was reminded of my late father’s claim that the plot never changes, only the names of the characters at the time. He was so right. While US gaming has enjoyed
explosive growth in 20 years, much remains the same as in 1993 when CI’s original management hired me. Despite gaming’s high public acceptance, we still confront many of the same misconceptions and issues. Gaming remains a positive economic force in
Atlantic City’s casinos learned cooperation upon first experiencing increased competition from Delaware,
Pennsylvania and New York
virtually every community, but the entire industry must work as a team to recognize potential threats and joint opportunities. At the November 2011 New England Gaming Summit, Foxwoods CEO and President Scott Butera recommended forming a regional gaming coalition to advocate important issues and organize opposition of unfair governmental intervention. He believes an offensive and defensive combined purpose would benefit the growing New England industry. He has come to that conclusion after his own changing economic landscape. Foxwoods, Connecticut’s fabulously successful casino, has faced little competition since its 1992 opening. Prior to the Mohegan Sun’s 1996 debut, also in Connecticut, Foxwoods enjoyed a monopoly within the populous New England region. Then both casinos widened the industry’s appeal. These two magnificent Native American properties no longer have a lock on millions of customers. In the past 10 years, neighboring Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts, not to mention New York, have all supported the possibilities and openings, of slot parlors and resort casinos. Atlantic City’s casinos learned cooperation upon
first experiencing increased competition from Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York. They formed the Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ), aimed to enhance communication with the public and promote the entire region. They forged an alliance instead of fighting among themselves. The CANJ focuses on attracting customers to the Jersey Shore, with the help of Republican Governor Chris Christie and investors who believe the seaside city has plenty to offer. Even the politicians may work together this year.
Last November, New Jersey voters overwhelmingly approved legalizing in-state sports betting. The language in the original bill, which Christie threatened to veto, allowed betting from home
8 JANUARY 2012
computers or cell phones. The two Democratic Assembly and Senate sponsors agreed to remove those provisions to secure Christie’s signature. The overall goal trumped individual components. The landscape will again change next May when the
Revel project opens. Ironically, gaming itself will play a smaller role, compared to non-gaming amenities. Almost everyone understands that whatever attracts more people to Atlantic City ultimately helps us all. They need to understand the situation going into
2012. The November 2011 statistics revealed that Pennsylvania’s gross gaming revenues surpassed Atlantic City’s for the first time in a single month. Sharing a common border, these gaming giants have battled it out since Pennsylvania’s July 2004 legalization and first casino opening in 2006. Although the margin was slight, Pennsylvania’s 10 gaming halls earned $245.8 million from both slots and table games versus $245.1 million for Atlantic City’s 11 casino hotels. On the surface, it sounds bad, but industry analysts reject any comparison. They warn against hastily jumping to conclusions. Pennsylvania’s gaming halls span hundreds of miles
statewide, while Atlantic City’s properties cover three to four miles. What impacts Atlantic City all at once, such as when last summer’s Hurricane Irene shutdown cost the casinos $50 million, may only affect portions of Pennsylvania. Plus, cultural differences exist in regions of a large state with close to 12 million people. Before they pop their champagne corks too quickly,
western Pennsylvania casinos should also be wary. Their Ohio neighbors to the west are launching their own gaming industry. Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino, the first of four proposed casinos, should open in March. Who knows its impact to the casinos along their
shared border? But, it is a safe bet that many Ohio distance drivers who have traveled to Pennsylvania will mimic the Pennsylvania/New Jersey situation. They may become convenience gamblers, sticking close to their Ohio homes rather than driving out of state to wager. Rather than clashing with each other, the casinos in that Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia region should seek ways to collaborate and prosper. Industry “wars” make no sense, and many businesses within different industries rarely come out ahead. I say get together, put differences aside to promote the common good and everyone will prosper. My father always said when Philadelphia’s coin-op vendors did that, everyone got “fat and rich”. They battled adversaries instead of each other and enjoyed their profits. Decades later, he’d say nothing has changed and would suggest the same solutions to prevail and succeed.
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