Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • September 3, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 11 FOCUS Quality Construction + Butler Manufacturing = Repeat Customers www.borghesibuilding.com © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. 2155 East Main Street • Torrington, Connecticut 06790 Windsor Marketing Group (WMG), Suffield, CT | 2006 | 50,000 sq. ft. 2008 | Addition — 40,000 sq. ft. 2015 | Addition — 80,000 sq. ft. Contact us at 860-482-7613 or visit us on the web. WE PROVIDE CT BUSINESS LEADERS WITH THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO SUCCESSFULLY RUN THEIR BUSINESS. ARE YOU IN THE KNOW? SUBSCRIBE BY GOING TO WWW.HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM CLICK ON "SUBSCRIBE" innovators and entrepreneurs can be engaged and connect in Hartford. Our longstanding Liquid Lounge franchise continues to be a popular adult event. This year we have added Science Straight Up, which is a some- what more science-, technology- and issues-oriented adult event at the Science Center. The Science Center and others, from the MetroHartford Alliance to Upward Hartford to the Wadsworth Atheneum, are all working in various ways to generate this kind of atmosphere here. The more the better. At the Science Center we're also experimenting with College Nights to help build a sense of community for the growing college student population downtown. Q. What are the biggest challenges the Science Center faces? What about the biggest opportunities? We're honest about the challenges but we're engaged ambitiously in the opportunities. Broadly, everything from insurtech downtown to the Pratt & Whitney Engineering Center and UTC Research Center across the river, from the UConn campus to the Stanley Black & Decker Manufac- tory is starting to add up to critical mass. We're seeing exciting invest- ment — public and private — by existing companies and institutions and new ones, such as InfoSys. The apartments, the amenities like the Yard Goats and Hartford Athletic soccer team are all part of the puzzle. We are seeing progress in the right places and commitment from the right players. The risk is that somehow it all gets undermined by public policy choices that forget talent attraction and workforce readiness and diminish our cities. Another risk is that, even if everything goes well, we refuse to recognize our own potential and suc- cess. This is an extraordinary place to be with enviable assets. The Sci- ence Center's risks are the region's risks. Naturally, we all operate within the context of our economic and cul- tural environment and that can make it easier or harder. also vying to become the Northeast's gambling and entertainment meccas. "This really is about competitiveness," Malloy said at a press conference last month regarding sports-betting legis- lation. "This is more about maintaining market share and perhaps capturing a portion of the illegal gaming revenue that currently is generated from people who aren't paying taxes on it." If the tribes are eventually granted sports-betting privileges, Foxwoods plans to add kiosks throughout its six casinos spanning 9 million square feet. Current race books and gam- ing areas would also be transitioned into spaces to accommodate sports wagers, said Butler in a wide-ranging interview with Hartford Business Journal that included a tour of the mile-long casino. Sports betting is an attractive business because there is "no risk" for the house, which typically takes a 17 percent cut on pari-mutuel bet- ting, meaning all of Foxwoods' total wagering pool, according to casino consultant Clyde Barrow, who also chairs the political science depart- ment at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Responding to competition Each corner of Foxwoods has either been replaced, reconfigured or reno- vated since MGM unveiled plans for its Springfield casino in 2012. Additions have included a zipline, go-karts, bowl- ing, shopping outlets and new eateries. Butler says the focus is clear: Big- ger, brighter and more open space for new adventure, entertainment and gaming options. Foxwoods is adamant, he says, about developing beyond the scope of its competitors, especially when it comes to building their resort entertainment. And it won't be hard to find the room at Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation's 100-plus acre site, although its outstanding debt of more than $1.8 billion — according to the tribe's most recent quarterly filing — could be an obstacle to future development. "We are continually looking at resort amenities that add to the des- tination environment," said Butler, who chairs the Tribal Nation and took the interim CEO title following the sudden and unexpected death of Felix Rappaport in July. "The more of those we can create, the more we can differentiate ourselves." Foxwoods officials began plotting an indoor water park several years ago, identifying possible areas on-site for a narrowing pool of developers. This fall it will launch new golf sim- ulators, each estimated at $30,000. The Topgolf Swing Suite will include retro arcade games, a DJ booth, and lounge and bar-restaurant space. MGM Springfield recently opened the region's first Topgolf Swing Suite. Pop-up bars surfacing throughout the facility are also meant to further the resort experience as guests enjoy a cocktail during their walk through the casino. Foxwoods is developing new bar concepts and often renovates its 30 restaurants, Butler said. The Festival Buffet, serving more than 750,000 people annually, will undergo major renovations this month that will be completed by early 2019. "It is going to reshape this side of the building," Butler said of the Continued on next page >>

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