FireKeepers Leads to Higher Traffic For Some Area Businesses

While no real solid numbers are available, many businesses located near the FireKeepers Casino have seen higher traffic. However, some area businesses located further away may have seen traffic declines.

Overall, studies have shown that counties with casinos (and surrounding counties) will experience meaningful economic growth within the first few years of a casino opening. Plans for a new hotel across the street and other area growth should help local businesses more in the future. Typically, new business growth will beget more new business.

As far as area nonprofit bingos are concerned, most seem to have suffered lowered attendance by the competition from the FireKeepers bingo hall. FireKeepers opened their bingo last fall, so the record is incomplete. Many feel that they are adjusting and this may only be a temporary setback.

For more information, please see Casino neighbors still await payoff.

Will Ohio Casinos Hurt Detroit?

One of the biggest reasons that we've kept up-to-date on the proposed Ohio casinos is because of the negative impact they're likely to have on the Detroit casinos, and to a lesser extent, Michigan charitable bingos. Due to be voted on in November, the Ohio proposal would allow for four casinos...one each in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and (most worrisome to Michigan casinos) Toledo.

From the Detroit News:

Backers of Issue 3, including Dan Gilbert, co-founder of Livonia-based Quicken Loans, have been heavily courting voters throughout the referendum process by arguing that as much as $1 billion a year is spent by Ohioans every year in casinos across state borders in West Virginia, Indiana and Michigan. Gilbert, who also has championed a rebirth of downtown Detroit, is a co-owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and has sunk millions into pushing for passage of Issue 3.

One recent television ad urges Buckeye voters to "take charge" and "keep our money in Ohio."

That kind of rhetoric is a concern for Detroit's three casinos -- MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity and Greektown. By all accounts, Ohioans represent the single-largest group of out-of-state casino patrons in southeast Michigan, and constitute a goodly portion of business for Caesars Windsor, across the Detroit River, in Ontario.

For more information on this article, please see Nathan Hurst, Ohio may take on Detroit casinos, The Detroit News, October 12, 2009.

This casino legislation will be voted on on November 3rd. Please check back for updates.

FireKeepers Casino Reaches Amended Compact Agreement With State

FireKeepers will pay the State of Michigan 4 percent of net win revenues earned from slot machines and other electronic games under an amended agreement.

An original agreement between FireKeepers and the state had been signed in 1998, but over the last 10 years or so, other tribal casinos located in the state were able to lobby for smaller payments. These tribes were able to successfully bargain after the State Lottery's introduction of Club Keno games, which tribes felt was a violation of the payment agreements.

From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

The state of Michigan will receive less money from the FireKeepers Casino near Battle Creek under an amended compact announced Monday.

State officials say that while the new deal will provide fewer dollars, it will mean a more stable source of funding because it will limit when the casino can withhold payments.

In a written statement, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said the agreement "creates a better understanding and relationship between the state and the tribe while stabilizing a revenue stream used to enhance Michigan's economic development."

Under the amended compact, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians will pay the state 4 percent of the casino's net win from slot machines and other electronic games in 2009 and 2010. The percentage will then fluctuate each year depending on how much money the casino makes.

The amount will never top 8 percent, the fixed percentage stipulated in the original compact signed in 1998. Net win is the amount of money wagered minus the amount paid out.

FireKeepers new payment schedule should simply bring them in line with what other tribal casinos in the state are paying. The FireKeepers Casino opened in August and the FireKeeper Bingo Hall opened September 8th of this month.

For more information on this story, please see Aaron Aupperlee, FireKeepers Casino to pay less to state, The Kalamazoo Gazette via Mlive.com, September 15, 2009.

Vegas Lessons

Three former high-level executives in the casino industry recently got together to discuss the downturn in Las Vegas and the gaming industry in general. Some of the their observations about Las Vegas and it's problems hold true for tribal gaming and even the charitable bingo market.

Anyway, its a good read and gives you some insight into the thinking behind the huge build-up of hotels and casinos that have led to the current glut. Below is an excerpt from the article:

Imagine that you’re a retired gaming executive and you’re watching the industry crash all around you, in the biggest recession in the modern casino era.

You take a deep breath, counting your lucky stars you’re retired but wondering: What could I have done differently? What would I do now?

The Sun invited three former casino executives to sit down for a Sunday Conversation, to candidly reflect, with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, about the gaming industry — then, now and in the future.

Together, they talked about bad assumptions, questionable decisions and getting caught up in the go-go boom years, second-guessed shifting strategies and talked about what can and should be learned about the industry and its customers.

The trio: Phil Satre, former CEO of Harrah’s Entertainment; Don Snyder, former president of Boyd Gaming; and Glenn Christenson, former chief financial officer of Station Casinos. Each is still active in corporate, civic and philanthropic life in Southern Nevada, but it was their days in the casino board rooms that we wanted to explore.

We wanted to get inside their heads, and they let us.

What lessons can be learned? Hard to say. For the complete story, please see Liz Benston, Making sense of gaming’s big crash, The Las Vegas Sun, August 9, 2009.

Las Vegas Hotel Deals Abound

Two years ago Gary Hamm and his wife gambled $200 at the Bellagio.

About two months ago it paid off.

He opened the mailbox at his Tacoma, Wash., home and found an offer from Bellagio for three free nights plus $50 in free play and food and drink credits.

"I was amazed, really," said Hamm. "Usually you expect to hear from casinos if you gamble a lot of money. We stayed there for three days and really didn't gamble much."

If it sounds like an expensive way to attract customers, that's because it is.

Las Vegas hoteliers are raking in $5.8 million per day less than they were a year ago, according to the latest figures from the convention and visitors authority.

And that is just on room rates.

It doesn't include all the free food, cheap or free booze, gambling inducements and show ticket discounts.

Properties across town -- from swank Strip retreats to humble downtown joints -- are offering more to get less than they were a year ago.

Even with room rates nearly 31 percent lower than 12 months ago as an enticement for customers, gambling revenue was down $3.8 million per day in Clark County.

"I think it is war out there right now," said Michael Crandall, director of business affairs for the Siegel Cos.

For the complete story, please see Benjamin Spillman, With economy sagging, Las Vegas hotel-casinos offer bargains, Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 28, 2009.

FireKeepers Casino Still Expected to Open in August

We're hearing that the FireKeepers Casino is still planning on opening in early to mid August. Located in Battle Creek, Michigan, FireKeepers will have the latest in slots, table games, and bingo.

From the FireKeepers website:

Playing with fire is about to get way more fun! With over 2,680 of the latest slot and video poker games; 78 table games including blackjack, craps and roulette; a live poker room and exclusive high limit areas and VIP lounge, you’ll see why FireKeepers is Battle Creek’s newest gaming hotspot.

Of course, FireKeepers will also feature a bingo hall with the latest in electronic handhelds and bingo equipment.

We'll be sure to keep our eye on the latest developments.

FireKeepers Casino Hasn't Settled on Official Opening Date

FireKeepers Casino won’t announce a firm opening date, Marketing Director Mike Facenda said, opting instead to let the results of a series of test openings predict when the much-anticipated Emmett Township facility opens to the public.

Somewhere around the end of July or beginning of August, Facenda said, as many as four “simulation nights” will allow the casino’s roughly 1,500 employees to try their new trade on an exclusive set of invited guests. After that, casino officials and the tribal council of FireKeepers’ owners, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, will decide if operations need reworking or if they can open their doors soon thereafter.

For the complete story, please see Mike Facenda, Official: FireKeepers won't announce opening date, The Battle Creek Enquirer, July 1, 2009.

Are Alabama Bingo Machines Legal?

When Attorney General Troy King released his review of gambling in Alabama in 2004, he did not include findings of an investigation by a federal agency that found evidence some machines at major gambling centers failed to meet standards separating legal bingo machines from illegal slot machines.

Nor did he share the findings from the National Indian Gaming Commission with Gov. Bob Riley, whose visit with King to commission officials in Washington had sparked the investigation.

Riley, who only recently learned of the investigation's findings, contends the letter the commission sent King backs up his belief that the thousands of electronic bingo machines that have spread across the state are nothing more than illegal slot machines requiring no skill to play or competitors to play against.

King, however, is largely dismissive of the letter.

For the complete story, please see Charles J. Dean, Kim Chandler, AG Troy King, Gov. Bob Riley spar over bingo report, The Birmingham News, June 28, 2009.

Nonprofit Groups Scramble for Bingo Permits

A list of more than 30 bingo permit applicants released by the city of Birmingham last week offers a glimpse into who might be involved in high-stakes bingo under Birmingham's new bingo ordinance.
Among the permit applicants is the brother of City Councilman Johnathan Austin. Gerald Austin Jr. applied for a permit representing the Center for Urban Missions, a nonprofit founded by Austin's father, the Rev. Gerald Austin Sr.

Councilman Austin was one of four councilors voting in favor of the bingo ordinance earlier this month.

Also applying for a bingo license is a nonprofit that former U.S. Rep. Earl Hilliard founded in 2000, the National Gallery of the Greats. Hilliard provided the initial draft of the new bingo ordinance to Councilman Joel Montgomery, who led the push to authorize and tax electronic bingo in the city. As a lawyer, Hilliard represents bingo operations in Jefferson and Walker counties.

But it's unclear how many groups might be pursuing a new type of permit that will allow them to operate major gaming centers with 500 machines or more.

That's because they all filled out an application designed before more than one type of permit existed that doesn't give them an option.

The city's list of applicants includes six groups that apparently denoted on their applications that they wanted the new bingo permit. The group operated by Austin's brother is among those six.

For the complete story, please see Thomas Spencer, Jeff Hansen, Groups line up for bingo permits in Birmingham, The Birmingham News, June 21, 2009.

How are Michigan Casinos Faring in this Economy?

Michigan's economy is down, its unemployment is up and the auto industry is in a battle for its life.

But when it came to spending on lady luck at casinos, the state bucked national trends until winter set in.

Revenue at Michigan's three commercial (non-Indian) casinos was up 1.3 percent in 2008, while commercial casinos around the country saw revenue decline 4.7 percent from record 2007 levels, according to state data and a study by the American Gaming Association.

Michigan's tribal casinos, though not tracked by the association, also saw some revenue growth, based on records of payments they made via their state revenue-sharing agreements.

But growth in that sector was scattered, driven by the first full year of operations at the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo.

``It's a dynamic where you don't know if it's an aberration, or if it's a peculiarity of the Michigan market,'' said Eric Bush, administrative manager for the Michigan Gaming Control Board, which regulates the state's casinos.

``It doesn't seem to be making a downturn and following the economy.''

The upward trend is not expected to continue, however. Eric Kalm, executive director of the MGCB, said the big question now for the state is how big of a revenue drop it should expect.

For the complete story, please see Chris Knape Michigan's luck about to run out?, Kalamazoo Gazette, May 31, 2009.

Many Look for Opportunity at FireKeepers Casino

Like clockwork, the cars roll over the stone parking lot just off Interstate 94 a little before 8 a.m. The drivers waste little time and head into the nondescript building for the first of three shifts at dealer school for FireKeepers Casino.

Two-thousand answered the call for 300 available slots as dealer-school students. They were screened and tested before being invited to attend. They get paid nothing and are expected to be there four hours a day for 12 weeks. In the end, they may or may not be offered a job. The casino says that, altogether, more than 28,000 people have applied for 1,500 full- and part-time jobs that will be filled before opening in early August.

"This is a career opportunity," says Lance Allen, director of table games for the casino. "A lot of people just look at it as a job. But it really is more than a job."

Allen should know. He started out as a dealer 28 years ago and has risen to a key management position for the $300 million casino.

At 47, Gary Smith from Parma was considering going back to school to train for a health-field position. He worked for Libra Industries -- an automotive supplier in Jackson -- for the past five years as a shipping and receiving manager. Like many, he gets no health insurance from his part-time job at a convenience store. If Smith makes it through the next 12 weeks, he'll get the benefits that are so important to him.

"Auto is a dying industry," Smith said. "I want something with long-term potential."

For the complete story, please see Chris Wheelock, What's the Deal? Some see second career as casino dealers, West Michigan Business, May 28, 2009.

China Gambling to Surpass Las Vegas?

The world economy may be slumping, but don't tell that to Macau -- the former Portugese colony which is set to trump Las Vegas heading out of the worst global downturn since the Great Depression.

In the smoke-filled gambling halls of Macau's MGM Mirage casino, hundreds of Chinese gamblers were crammed around tables flipping cards, playing roulette and rolling dice on a recent day, seemingly unaffected by the slowdown.

The ace up the sleeve of Macau, the world's biggest gambling market, is this steady influx of risk-loving Chinese flocking to the only place in China where casinos are legal. Las Vegas, on the other hand, is saddled with a stagnant U.S. economy and glut of new casinos preparing to enter the market.

"We've seen better-than-expected performance in the overall gaming market of Macau," said Credit Suisse analyst Gabriel Chan. "Vegas is still suffering and will take a longer time to recover, but in Macau, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Macau, a special administrative region that is now under Chinese rule, will be more resilient than Las Vegas thanks to its proximity to China, which is propping up its economy with a massive 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package to offset a big drop in exports, analysts said.

For the complete story, please see Sui-Lee Wee and Deena Beasley, China ties make Macau casinos good bet to beat Vegas, Reuters, May 26, 2009.

FireKeepers Casino Expected to Open in August

"So far I'm getting used to these chips."

Steve Feltner is on his first day of what he hopes will be his new career. He was laid off from his exterminator job and jumped at the chance to become a dealer.

"The way I see it, this job's gonna be here for a really long time," said Feltner. "Plus the bare fact that I absolutely love being around people, I just figured this would be a good career to undertake."

All four hours of the first day and part of the second will be all about the chips.

Cutting, stacking, pushing-- they're the foundation of the job.

Mark Agabashian is pretty good with the chips-- he's been a dealer for 10 years-- but was laid off from Motor City Casino in Detroit last month. Dealer school is a formality for him.

"It's like work, but it's not easy," says Agabashian. "The procedures are really precise."

Both Feltner and Agabashian have easy going, friendly personalities that would seem to make them excellent dealers from a gambler's perspective.

"I like this a lot," Agabashian continues. "It's entertaining. The players are amazing."

They are both after the same thing-- a career at the new Firekeepers Casino just off I-94 in between Marshall and Battle Creek. It's 45 miles South of Lansing-- which is 15 miles closer than Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant.

Construction is moving along well and doors are now expected to open in early August.

For the complete story, please see Jason Colthorp, New Casino Opening in August, WILX.com, May 18, 2009.

Vegas Gambles on Future

The slump in Las Vegas may be bottoming out, but odds are good that a coming wave of new resorts will hinder any rebound in hotel rates or casino revenue.

That could put a cap on profits at recession-battered casino companies.

MGM Mirage, Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Resorts Ltd. this week reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results, helping to boost their heavily battered stock prices.

"I see that starting in September – maybe October, more appropriately – we are going to have an accelerated booking pace ... I hesitate to use the word getting back to normal, but I think we are getting close to getting back to normal in 2010," Sheldon Adelson, Sands' chair and chief executive, said this week.

Analysts, however, warn that there is no concrete evidence as yet that the bottom of the downturn is in sight in Las Vegas.

For the complete story, please see Deena Beasley, Vegas rolls dice on an uncertain future, Reuters via The Toronto Star, May 10, 2009.

Your Bingo Should Be Prepared for a Smoking Ban

With a smoking ban likely looming over Michigan bingos, bingo managers, bingo supplies providers, and hall owners need to be prepared to take steps to keep the smokers in their crowd coming back.

If your bingo is about to become smoke free, don't sit back and wait for it to happen. Be proactive and begin planning now. Embrace your customers that smoke and let them know what steps you'll be taking to accomodate them, and then make sure you follow through.

Here's some steps you can take:

1. Educate your smokers on the new policy and what they should be prepared for.

2. Create a comfortable and nice smoking area for your bingo players that smoke.

3. Be prepared to change your bingo games or offer additional breaks.

4. Have as much fun as possible with it. We recommend you do this with every aspect of your bingo, so why not try to make this fun too.

5. Clean, clean, and clean. Use this as an opportunity to brighten up your bingo hall.

For more information, please see our article on Preparing Your Bingo for a Smoking Ban.

Governor Pushes for Change in Bingo Decision

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - In a move that is anything but surprising Governor Bob Riley asked the Alabama Supreme Court on Monday to throw out a ruling in the White Hall Gaming Center case.

The Governor's office contends that the judge, former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Mark Kennedy, should have recused himself of the case immediately for his work for an Indian casino. Governor Riley and the Governor's Task Force on Illegal Gambling also asked the Supreme Court for an immediate stay of Judge Kennedy's order until the Supreme Court has a chance to consider the appeal.

Kennedy's Saturday afternoon ruling ordered the state to return cash and gaming machines seized during the March 19 raid within five days. It also ordered the state not to interfere with the White Hall Gaming Center's operations until a final ruling in the case.

For the complete story, please see Governor wants bingo ruling tossed, WSFA 12 News, March 29, 2009.

Romulus, Port Huron Casinos Push for Openings in Michigan

As I mentioned in my last entry, casino expansion is never good for the charitable gaming market. So, news that two more casinos would like to open their doors (one in Port Huron and one in Romulus) is not welcome news for Michigan bingos. While both locations have begun taking baby steps forward, I expect there will be opposition for both and strong opposition for the Romulus location (most likely from Detroit casinos). So both casinos won't likely be opening any time soon.

For the complete story see Todd Spangler, Panel clears way for vote on Michigan casinos Detroit Free Press, February 13, 2008

Casino in Muskegon's Future?

Muskegon city commissioners approved an agreement with an Upper Peninsula Indian tribe that could bring the city upwards of $4.5 million a year in new revenue if the tribe builds a casino here.

The agreement with the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewas is non binding and nonexclusionary, meaning that similar agreements could be forged with other casino entities -- like the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, which presented its own, much larger casino proposal to city officials on Monday.

Larry Romanelli, Little River's elected tribal leader, was present for tuesday's action. Asked afterward if it could have an effect on Little River's plans, he said, "It could. We're going to have to talk about it."

In the end, the agreement that counts will be the one with the tribal entity that successfully negotiates the welter of state and federal regulations that govern Indian gaming.

For the full article, see Muskegon, tribe reach preliminary pact on casino, Grand Rapids Press via Mlive, February 14, 2008

While, a casino in Muskegon is likely years away, news like this is still not good for Michigan's charitable bingos.

Many opposition groups have formed and will fight the casino for years. However, should they fail, continued expansion of casinos in Michigan will mean less and less non-profit groups will be able to depend on bingo to make ends meet.