MetroWest495 Biz

operations." "They have hired 20 local firms to do catering and landscaping," United Regional chamber's Lank said. "They are already reaching out to my member- ship." Penn National is also reaching out directly to local businesses to work out cross-marketing arrangements with local hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues. It has signed initial agreements with more than 40 businesses and enter- tainment venues and is working out the details for the special offers it will market to gamblers, said Morris, the company spokesman. The basic idea involves stay, play and shop packages aimed at enticing gam- blers who come to play the slot machines at Plainridge Park to stay awhile and take in the local attractions, he said. The price might include a stay at a local hotel, tickets to a Patriots game or a concert over at Live Nation's Xfinity Center in Mansfield, and shopping at Wrentham Village Premium Outlets. Penn National opted not to include a hotel in its Plainridge Park development, with local hoteliers arguing there is still "capacity" — as in empty rooms — in the local market. Penn National is also looking at letting gamblers who rack up points through frequent play cash in some of the chips, so to speak, at local businesses, Morris said. "We have met with representatives from Penn Gaming and are exploring various marketing opportunities," wrote Susan Bladd, director of marketing and business development at Wrentham Vil- lage, in a statement. "We look forward to working with Plainridge Park Casino." only game in town Penn National's new gaming venue will never rival the state's three planned resort casinos in size and scope, with the casinos offering thousands of slot machines and dozens of table games. By contrast, Plainridge Park is restricted to 1,250 slot machines and no table games. Two dueling proposals for a Boston- area casino license both feature projects well over a billion dollars, while out in Springfield, MGM plans to spend more than $700 million on a downtown casino. But Penn National and local town and business officials also hope the new Plainridge Park benefits from something called the "first mover" advantage. After years of talk and hype about casinos coming to Massachusetts, Plainridge Park will be the only game in town — at least as Massachusetts is concerned — for the next few years. The gaming commission won't issue licenses for the Boston area and Western Massachusetts casinos until this summer at the earliest. It will then take another two or three years to build these giant resorts, Fernandes, Plainville's town manager, notes. That means Plainridge will have the Bay State gambling market to itself for possibly two years — maybe more — after it opens next year, Fernandes said. "There is a golden window of op- portunity," he said. "We had anticipated a couple years without competition. My hope is there is some pent-up demand out there." not everyone convinced Some business owners are skeptical about Penn National's promises and talk about benefits for the local economy. Greg Stevens, owner of Bella Sarno Ristorante in North Attleborough, con- tends Plainridge Park will simply suck money out of the local economy, with seniors and locals spending their hard- earned dollars playing the slots, leaving less money to dine out. He's also concerned about the gaming venue's plans to have three restaurants of its own. "You are talking to a guy who is very anti-casino," Stevens said. "It's a windfall for someone, but I don't see it as a windfall for small businesses in the area." "I would rather see them raise taxes than put in a casino," he said. Still, while the idea that casinos will pillage the local economy has been a popular argument among opponents, this predicted trail of economic devasta- tion has yet to materialize as casinos have spread to states across the country, argues Clyde Barrow, director of the Center for Policy Analysis at the Univer- sity of Massachusetts Dartmouth. "That is just never the case — the average person is not going to go without new clothes or food to gamble," Barrow said. As far as competition from new res- taurants is concerned, that's just part of life in a free market, he said. "You can't say 'don't open a new restaurant because you don't want new competition,'" Barrow said. "People are always for competition until there is some." Still, there's also concern that the gam- bling market in the Northeast may finally reach saturation, with casino revenues having peaked in Connecticut and Penn- sylvania, and with New York planning to roll out four full-scale casinos. That said, there's likely to be pent- up demand for expanded gambling in Massachusetts, with Bay State gamblers representing one of the largest sources of revenue for Connecticut's two casinos, UMass Dartmouth's Center for Policy Analysis has found in yearly reviews of the New England gambling market. Considered small in the gaming indus- try with only 1,250 slot machines and no table games, Plainridge Park is not likely to measurably tilt that balance one way or another, UMass Dartmouth's Barrow notes. "It will have a limited impact," Barrow said of the overall gaming market in New England. "But it will have a positive impact in that you will have hundreds of newly employed people spending money on (an) array of things consumers spend money on," he added. n MetroWest495 Biz | May 2014 25 Worcester • West Yarmouth • Framingham • milFord Accounting and Tax Services | Business Consulting Services | Business Transition / Exit Planning Financial Services and Retirement Planning (508) 757-3311 • www.sgllp.com It's Tough to See ings Clearly ese Days no matter how blurry today's economic environment may look, you can rely on shepherd & goldstein to deliver the knowledge, experience and expertise to help you see more clearly. our proven, best practices business solutions can not only help you today, but also build value for tomorrow. We lay our reputation on the line everyday with our awesome service guarantee® and provide a never-ending focus on complete customer satisfaction that ensures personal attention and responsiveness. to find out why s&g is the accounting firm of choice for many of the area's finest organizations, contact Terry Shepherd at 508-757-3311. CAsino s page 21

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