Sheldon Adelson and Gary Loveman are already prominent in the casino and gaming industries. They hold millions, or billions, in Adelson's case, and their legacy of success is firmly established.
But once you hear each person talk about the possibility of building and operating a casino in Massachusetts, it becomes clear that bringing their business back home would be seen as more than just another feather in their hat.
Raised in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood and with titles such as Adelson, now chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, and Harrer Entertainment, Loveman went back to their roots Tuesday to support a bill drafted by Gov. Deval Patrick to host three resort-style casinos in Massachusetts. They were among many speakers who drew a standing room-only crowd inside the 600-seat Gardner auditorium during a legislative hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives.
"It's natural," said Loveman, who hosts casinos in the state. "You've got a lot of wealthy adult groups that have already shown interest in gaming. Plus, there's very little supply other than in Connecticut - Foxwood Casino and Mohegan Sun Casino. So it's an attractive market, needless to say."
Loveman, who joined Hara as COO in 1998 and became CEO in 2003, did not speak until after the eight-hour hearing. But he attended virtually the entire event and told Casino City that most of what he heard throughout the day was expected. 바카라사이트 추천
"What always comes to mind is that we're an industry that's prepared to invest $3 billion, pay $800 million in license fees, and generate $300 million in annual revenue, and we're asking for nothing," said Hara's $9.4 billion acquisition of Caesars Entertainment in June 2005 was the largest single transaction in the history of the industry. "We're not asking for infrastructure. We're not asking for environmental protection. We're not asking for any tax breaks. We're asking for nothing, but the argument is always possible if that's enough."
During his testimony, Loveman, a Massachusetts resident for 25 years and former Harvard University associate professor, called Governor Patrick's proposal "some of the most enlightened ideas about our industry and what it can do for the country" he has seen for years.
"Legalized and regulated casino gambling is a proven job creator, a catalyst for economic revival and a reliable public source of income that does not rely on taxpayers for handouts," he continued. "Furthermore, the casino development destination resort model proposed by Governor Patrick is by far the most delivered form of casino games in terms of comprehensive economic development benefits."
As far as resort casinos are concerned, the ultimate authority may be Adelson, who recently opened the world's second-largest building, Venice Macau. Adelson bought the former Sands casino in Las Vegas for $128 million in 1989 and immediately demolished it, building a $1.5 billion Venetian casino resort and a 1.2 million square foot Sands convention center. He was a pioneer who thought it would be more beneficial to use the importance of gambling income to focus on attracting convention participants to the city on weekends.
Adelson, 73, slowly wandered around the auditorium throughout Tuesday's event, when he needed the help of a cane and his wife, Miriam, to move from place to place. But Adelson seemed pretty relaxed when television crews and reporters cornered him outside the auditorium door hours before speaking to the panel.
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