An improvised explosive device went off in Barangay Nes, Midsayap, North Cotabato around 9 p.m. Sunday, the second blast that hit the town this month, police said.
No one was injured or killed in the blast, the police said.
Midsayap police chief Supt. Reinante Delos Santos, in a phone interview, said the bomb exploded in front of a sari-sari store owned by Jeffrey Fontanilla, damaging its roof and concrete wall.
Police investigation showed that before the explosion two unidentified men bought cigarettes and candies at the store and left on board a motorcycle towards the national highway.
The Army’s 66th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Division said the bomb was made of a 60 mm mortar and a mobile phone was used as the triggering device.
No one has claimed responsibility for the incident.
On August 7, 2013, a bomb also exploded in front of a pawnshop in Midsayap. No one was injured in the blast.
Aside from the latest blast in Midsayap, at least five other explosions have rocked parts of Mindanao since late last month.
Eight persons were killed and 46 others were injured in the Cagayan de Oro City blast in a resto-bar in Rosario Arcade, Limketkai Center on July 26.
Another eight people were killed and 30 were injured in Cotabato City on August 5 in a bombing that apparently targeted city administrator Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi.
Seven soldiers were injured in Shariff Saydona Mustapha town in Maguindanao on August 7. There were no reported casualties in the explosion of improvised bombs in Midsayap, North Cotabato and Datu Piang in Maguindanao on August 7.
Fast Towards Heaven
While “Fast Towards Heaven” is definitely the most musically-upbeat tune on the EP, it focuses lyrically on a hard-to-swallow realization: that there are some old attachments that you can never fully move on from, as hard as you might try – that first love that you never really forgot; that grudge you never gave up; the parts of your old teenage self that you cover up like a shameful bruise. It’s those things you’re most afraid of revealing to other people that often say much more about you than anything you might willingly tell. “Fast Towards Heaven” is about being, unwittingly and unwillingly, under the magnetic hold of those strong past affections and memories long after you thought they had vanished.
Safe
“Safe” is an elegy to a past self, to the teenage years when you shed previous versions of your identity with frightening frequency in an attempt to outrun the impending stasis of adulthood, as if once you leave high school you’ll harden into the person that you’ll have to be for the rest of your life, whether you like it or not. If you’re a bookish nerd one day, there’s little preventing you from reinventing yourself into something else the next. This is mostly just adolescent exploration without long-term consequence, and while most of those changes are harmless, some are not. “Safe” is a song about coming to painful grips with the things you’ve changed about yourself that you can’t erase.
Please visit his website at www.happmart.com.
2013年8月20日星期二
2013年8月13日星期二
Founded in 1946 by Paul Ilg
WASH Multifamily Laundry Systems, a leading laundry facilities management service for multi-housing locations in North America, announced today its acquisition of Universal Laundries, the Chicago-based route laundry company. This acquisition increases WASH's considerable presence within the Midwest region and is part of the company's nationwide expansion strategy.
"WASH's acquisition of Universal Laundries represents another important step in our expansion efforts," says Adam Coffey, WASH's president and CEO. "Universal Laundries' solid presence in the Chicagoland area increases our market density in the Midwest region, which has grown in recent years following other acquisitions, including Great Lakes Commercial Laundry based in Wisconsin and Automatic Apartment Laundries, Inc. of Michigan."
Founded in 1946 by Paul Ilg, Universal Laundries has supplied the Chicagoland area with high-quality laundry equipment and maintenance for two generations. The firm has become known for its prompt laundry equipment servicing and preventative maintenance scheduling. Universal's current managing partner and the founder's son, Robert Ilg, will remain involved in the operations of the business.
"WASH is a good fit because they share Universal's core values of outstanding customer service and superior equipment," commented Universal Laundries' Robert Ilg. "I am confident that Universal Laundries' customers will continue to receive the same high-quality laundry services they have come to expect along with some additional benefits and technologies that WASH brings to the table."
Coffey continues, "Chicago is the third largest metropolitan market in the United States, so acquiring Universal Laundries was a great opportunity for WASH to add considerable density and increased market share."
As participants in Vibrant Response 13-2, National Guard and Reserve soldiers will be busy responding to a simulated nuclear explosion. Luckily, after all emergencies have been contained and fires extinguished, there is a hot shower waiting for a soldier to wash the day away.
The 338th Quartermaster Field Services Company, a National Guard unit from Fort Wayne, Ind., is providing free laundry and shower services to soldiers participating in Vibrant Response from July 27 through Aug. 19.
“The most important thing about this mission is high morale and showing the capabilities of our unit,” said Capt. Nathan M. Bostrom, 338th commander.
The 338th can accommodate up to 1,200 soldiers a day for showers and 1,000 a day for laundry. There are 24 showers centrally located in a tent on Camp Atterbury that are cleaned daily. The tents are also equipped with water heaters and mirrors. Female soldiers can shower from 5 to 7 a.m., and at 6 to 8 p.m. The hours for males are 7 to 9 a.m., and from 8 to 10 p.m.
While being able to bathe daily is a luxury in a field environment, so is having a clean uniform. Soldiers deployed to Camp Atterbury during Vibrant Response can drop off their laundry daily, from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. The service is free and the laundry returned clean and folded.
Vibrant Response, a major field training exercise, is conducted by U.S. Northern Command and led by U.S. Army North.
Approximately 5,700 service members and civilians from the military and other federal and state agencies are training to respond to a catastrophic domestic incident. As a component of U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Army North coordinates timely federal military response to disasters in the homeland to help the American people in time of need.
Welcome to www.happmart.com Web.If you love Arcade parts,welcome to contact us!
"WASH's acquisition of Universal Laundries represents another important step in our expansion efforts," says Adam Coffey, WASH's president and CEO. "Universal Laundries' solid presence in the Chicagoland area increases our market density in the Midwest region, which has grown in recent years following other acquisitions, including Great Lakes Commercial Laundry based in Wisconsin and Automatic Apartment Laundries, Inc. of Michigan."
Founded in 1946 by Paul Ilg, Universal Laundries has supplied the Chicagoland area with high-quality laundry equipment and maintenance for two generations. The firm has become known for its prompt laundry equipment servicing and preventative maintenance scheduling. Universal's current managing partner and the founder's son, Robert Ilg, will remain involved in the operations of the business.
"WASH is a good fit because they share Universal's core values of outstanding customer service and superior equipment," commented Universal Laundries' Robert Ilg. "I am confident that Universal Laundries' customers will continue to receive the same high-quality laundry services they have come to expect along with some additional benefits and technologies that WASH brings to the table."
Coffey continues, "Chicago is the third largest metropolitan market in the United States, so acquiring Universal Laundries was a great opportunity for WASH to add considerable density and increased market share."
As participants in Vibrant Response 13-2, National Guard and Reserve soldiers will be busy responding to a simulated nuclear explosion. Luckily, after all emergencies have been contained and fires extinguished, there is a hot shower waiting for a soldier to wash the day away.
The 338th Quartermaster Field Services Company, a National Guard unit from Fort Wayne, Ind., is providing free laundry and shower services to soldiers participating in Vibrant Response from July 27 through Aug. 19.
“The most important thing about this mission is high morale and showing the capabilities of our unit,” said Capt. Nathan M. Bostrom, 338th commander.
The 338th can accommodate up to 1,200 soldiers a day for showers and 1,000 a day for laundry. There are 24 showers centrally located in a tent on Camp Atterbury that are cleaned daily. The tents are also equipped with water heaters and mirrors. Female soldiers can shower from 5 to 7 a.m., and at 6 to 8 p.m. The hours for males are 7 to 9 a.m., and from 8 to 10 p.m.
While being able to bathe daily is a luxury in a field environment, so is having a clean uniform. Soldiers deployed to Camp Atterbury during Vibrant Response can drop off their laundry daily, from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. The service is free and the laundry returned clean and folded.
Vibrant Response, a major field training exercise, is conducted by U.S. Northern Command and led by U.S. Army North.
Approximately 5,700 service members and civilians from the military and other federal and state agencies are training to respond to a catastrophic domestic incident. As a component of U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Army North coordinates timely federal military response to disasters in the homeland to help the American people in time of need.
Welcome to www.happmart.com Web.If you love Arcade parts,welcome to contact us!
2013年6月25日星期二
Betfred To Add New Gaming Machines
UK gambling company, Betfred will be expanding its betting shop services by adding 1,700 new gaming machines to its retail locations.
The group has signed an exclusive five year contract with Inspired Gaming which will see the games supplier deliver new Category B2/B3 gaming machines to an additional 500 Betfred shops that once served as Tote betting shops. Betfred acquired Tote from the UK government in 2011.
Inspired Gaming will ensure that the new Betfred gaming machines are installed by January 2014, bringing to over 5,100 the number of gaming machines in the group's portfolio.
According to the Managing Director of UK at Inspired Gaming, Lee Greogry, Betfred is well known in the gambling industry for its successful machine businesses and award winning retail marketing campaigns for new game launches.
"We've worked together to accomplish many successes over the past 15 years, from when AWP's were first allowed in bookmakers, and look forward to many more milestones - including a new hardware launch in 2013," said Gregory.
"Inspired UK's business as a whole is going from strength to strength and we anticipate a positive year ahead with the recent launch of Fortune Spins, a new game feature, and the upcoming launch of the next phase of our technology roadmap."
In other Betfred news, the company was told that an email ad put out in March has been banned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ad, according to the authority, was misleading and did not include important information.
The ad was headlined: "Risk free in play offer & double and trebled odds on Champions League action". Players were told that they could enjoy a "risk-free in-play bet".
Complainants argued that the bet was misleading because it wasn't understood from anywhere in the ad that the offer was paid as a 10 bet and not in cash.
Betfred countered that all promotional emails included a clear link to terms and conditions of all offers, including the ad in question.
After lengthy correspondence where Betfred and the ASA referred to all points that the gambling group offered in its defense, it was finally ruled that the ad would be banned.
Betfred has therefore been told that the promotional material may not appear in its current form, and was warned that any future emails would need to contain clear conditions in the actual body of the email and not just as a link. More information about the program is available on the web site at www.happmart.com.
The group has signed an exclusive five year contract with Inspired Gaming which will see the games supplier deliver new Category B2/B3 gaming machines to an additional 500 Betfred shops that once served as Tote betting shops. Betfred acquired Tote from the UK government in 2011.
Inspired Gaming will ensure that the new Betfred gaming machines are installed by January 2014, bringing to over 5,100 the number of gaming machines in the group's portfolio.
According to the Managing Director of UK at Inspired Gaming, Lee Greogry, Betfred is well known in the gambling industry for its successful machine businesses and award winning retail marketing campaigns for new game launches.
"We've worked together to accomplish many successes over the past 15 years, from when AWP's were first allowed in bookmakers, and look forward to many more milestones - including a new hardware launch in 2013," said Gregory.
"Inspired UK's business as a whole is going from strength to strength and we anticipate a positive year ahead with the recent launch of Fortune Spins, a new game feature, and the upcoming launch of the next phase of our technology roadmap."
In other Betfred news, the company was told that an email ad put out in March has been banned by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ad, according to the authority, was misleading and did not include important information.
The ad was headlined: "Risk free in play offer & double and trebled odds on Champions League action". Players were told that they could enjoy a "risk-free in-play bet".
Complainants argued that the bet was misleading because it wasn't understood from anywhere in the ad that the offer was paid as a 10 bet and not in cash.
Betfred countered that all promotional emails included a clear link to terms and conditions of all offers, including the ad in question.
After lengthy correspondence where Betfred and the ASA referred to all points that the gambling group offered in its defense, it was finally ruled that the ad would be banned.
Betfred has therefore been told that the promotional material may not appear in its current form, and was warned that any future emails would need to contain clear conditions in the actual body of the email and not just as a link. More information about the program is available on the web site at www.happmart.com.
2013年4月16日星期二
Greetings from Gun Valley
LENNY LARIVEE has spent 68 percent of his 69 years on this planet doing the same thing: making guns. And he’s made them all for one company, Savage Arms in Westfield, just off Exit 3 on the Mass. Pike. He’s tall and bald, with a voice that is low and a speaking style that is John Wayne-slow. He is also a cantankerous character. Newcomers who stop by his bench expecting to find a senior statesman are usually startled to hear his opening line: “You don’t like what I say? Stay the eff away.”
Larivee has seen it all. How the $1.25 he made per hour in 1965 shot up to $22.50 an hour by 1971, factoring in piecework incentives. How years of bad management forced the company into bankruptcy protection in 1988, when 800 employees walked out of the factory with their tools on a Friday afternoon and only 100 were invited back on Monday morning—and for substantially less pay. How the company was living week to week for a long time, with its straight-talking new leader, Ron Coburn, telling his remaining employees: “Don’t cash your check until I say the money’s in the bank.” Looking back on it now, Larivee admits, “I never thought we’d make it.”
Today, as he repairs the damaged crown on a rifle, the factory around him is humming. Savage Arms, the century-old pioneer that had deteriorated to the point where it was mocked as “Salvage Arms” and left for dead, now can’t keep up with demand. Its year-over-year growth was 50 percent in 2011, 40 percent in 2012, and is on pace to pack on another 40 percent in 2013. The company is running round-the-clock shifts on weekdays and has added one on Saturdays.
It has about 415 employees in Westfield, nearly double the number from just three years ago and part of a companywide workforce of 740. And it is racing to hire more. The Westfield factory made and shipped more than 350,000 guns in 2012, while also distributing another 300,000 that were made at Savage’s Canadian plant or by the vendors in China and Turkey that produce the company’s cheaper Stevens brand weapons. One company projection calls for the Westfield plant to be producing 650,000 guns by 2015 and distributing more than 1 million in total.
While Larivee’s machinist’s union wage hasn’t returned to its 1971 peak, it has climbed back up to $17.10 an hour. It’s enough, he says, to afford “a new car every four years and have my house paid for,” something for which he has thanked Coburn, who just retired as CEO, every year at Christmas. Base hourly wages on the factory floor now range from $14 for subassembly work to $25 for licensed electricians. And depending on how profitably the factory was able to turn out its product in the previous month—posting high production numbers with low scrap and limited overtime—employees can see their monthly pay goosed by 4, 5, or even 9 percent.
Larivee confidently answers all questions, except for one. How can a company like Savage be thriving in high-cost unionized Massachusetts, when we were all led to believe manufacturing was firmly in New England’s past? “I don’t understand why it’s happening,” he says. “No, I don’t.”
After chewing it over for a while, Larivee offers a partial explanation for the boom. “I think it’s because of our president and what happened down in Connecticut,” he says, talking over the roar of machines and the horns of forklifts. “Everybody’s nervous that Obama’s going to pass some law that you’re not going to be able to buy ammo or guns, or that he’s going to go in your house.”
Larivee has seen it all. How the $1.25 he made per hour in 1965 shot up to $22.50 an hour by 1971, factoring in piecework incentives. How years of bad management forced the company into bankruptcy protection in 1988, when 800 employees walked out of the factory with their tools on a Friday afternoon and only 100 were invited back on Monday morning—and for substantially less pay. How the company was living week to week for a long time, with its straight-talking new leader, Ron Coburn, telling his remaining employees: “Don’t cash your check until I say the money’s in the bank.” Looking back on it now, Larivee admits, “I never thought we’d make it.”
Today, as he repairs the damaged crown on a rifle, the factory around him is humming. Savage Arms, the century-old pioneer that had deteriorated to the point where it was mocked as “Salvage Arms” and left for dead, now can’t keep up with demand. Its year-over-year growth was 50 percent in 2011, 40 percent in 2012, and is on pace to pack on another 40 percent in 2013. The company is running round-the-clock shifts on weekdays and has added one on Saturdays.
It has about 415 employees in Westfield, nearly double the number from just three years ago and part of a companywide workforce of 740. And it is racing to hire more. The Westfield factory made and shipped more than 350,000 guns in 2012, while also distributing another 300,000 that were made at Savage’s Canadian plant or by the vendors in China and Turkey that produce the company’s cheaper Stevens brand weapons. One company projection calls for the Westfield plant to be producing 650,000 guns by 2015 and distributing more than 1 million in total.
While Larivee’s machinist’s union wage hasn’t returned to its 1971 peak, it has climbed back up to $17.10 an hour. It’s enough, he says, to afford “a new car every four years and have my house paid for,” something for which he has thanked Coburn, who just retired as CEO, every year at Christmas. Base hourly wages on the factory floor now range from $14 for subassembly work to $25 for licensed electricians. And depending on how profitably the factory was able to turn out its product in the previous month—posting high production numbers with low scrap and limited overtime—employees can see their monthly pay goosed by 4, 5, or even 9 percent.
Larivee confidently answers all questions, except for one. How can a company like Savage be thriving in high-cost unionized Massachusetts, when we were all led to believe manufacturing was firmly in New England’s past? “I don’t understand why it’s happening,” he says. “No, I don’t.”
After chewing it over for a while, Larivee offers a partial explanation for the boom. “I think it’s because of our president and what happened down in Connecticut,” he says, talking over the roar of machines and the horns of forklifts. “Everybody’s nervous that Obama’s going to pass some law that you’re not going to be able to buy ammo or guns, or that he’s going to go in your house.”
2013年3月28日星期四
W.Va. Senate panel OKs gambling bills
The casino would be built at a time of heavy competition within the industry. Casino gambling recently has expanded in neighboring Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland.
Casino analysts have described the industry in the region as a pie that is not increasing, but is being divided into more and more pieces. As a result, West Virginia’s lottery commission predicts that revenue for the four racetrack casinos will decrease by more than $200 million from 2012 to 2013. That would correspond to about an $80 million decrease in tax revenue.
The racetrack casino in Wheeling, located between newer casinos in Ohio and Pennsylvania, has said it expects to lose $1 million on table games this year. The casino indicated that if its $2.5 million table game fee was not lowered, it would be unlikely to renew it.
The bill advanced by the Senate would lower that fee for Wheeling and the three other racetrack casinos from $2.5 million to $1.5 million per year. The money from the fees currently goes to provide in-home health care services to seniors.
An amendment to the bill would recover that money by cutting the state subsidy that helps casinos buy new slot machines. The state currently pays for 50 percent of the costs of new Arcade parts. Under the amended bill, the state only would pay 25 percent of those costs.
State Sen. Herb Snyder proposed the amendment targeting the slot machine money. Snyder said because slot machines were the healthiest part of the casino business, it made sense to target them rather than table games or the struggling horse and dog tracks.
“You could not possibly fool with table game revenue,” said Snyder, D-Jefferson/Berkeley. “It’s not big enough. You go to the one that’s plump.”
John Cavacini, president of the West Virginia Racing Association, a group representing casinos, said the slot machine subsidies were important because they let the casinos update their facilities to stay competitive with other states.
Neighboring states do not offer similar subsidies to casinos. Tax rates on slot machine revenue are lower in Ohio than they are in West Virginia, but are much higher in Pennsylvania.
Supporters of the new proposed casino in Franklin told the committee that because of its location, it would not draw business away from existing West Virginia casinos.
The casino would hope to target Virginians, specifically from the Lynchburg and Richmond areas. Both Lynchburg and Richmond are nearly a three-hour drive from Franklin, and Richmond is closer to the casino in Charles Town, W.Va., than it is to Franklin.
The bill only would allow a casino to be built if the developers met certain stipulations intended to make it a destination resort. The developers must submit plans to build at least 1,000 home sites and a hotel with at least 150 rooms. And the total cost of the development must be at least $80 million. The development needs to be on at least 1,000 adjoining acres and it must include recreational activities.
Stephen Conrad, a resident of Pendleton County, where the casino would be located, said it would bring about 300 jobs to the area. A U.S. Naval facility in nearby Sugar Grove, W.Va., is scheduled to be repurposed in 2016 and take 330 jobs with it.
Casino analysts have described the industry in the region as a pie that is not increasing, but is being divided into more and more pieces. As a result, West Virginia’s lottery commission predicts that revenue for the four racetrack casinos will decrease by more than $200 million from 2012 to 2013. That would correspond to about an $80 million decrease in tax revenue.
The racetrack casino in Wheeling, located between newer casinos in Ohio and Pennsylvania, has said it expects to lose $1 million on table games this year. The casino indicated that if its $2.5 million table game fee was not lowered, it would be unlikely to renew it.
The bill advanced by the Senate would lower that fee for Wheeling and the three other racetrack casinos from $2.5 million to $1.5 million per year. The money from the fees currently goes to provide in-home health care services to seniors.
An amendment to the bill would recover that money by cutting the state subsidy that helps casinos buy new slot machines. The state currently pays for 50 percent of the costs of new Arcade parts. Under the amended bill, the state only would pay 25 percent of those costs.
State Sen. Herb Snyder proposed the amendment targeting the slot machine money. Snyder said because slot machines were the healthiest part of the casino business, it made sense to target them rather than table games or the struggling horse and dog tracks.
“You could not possibly fool with table game revenue,” said Snyder, D-Jefferson/Berkeley. “It’s not big enough. You go to the one that’s plump.”
John Cavacini, president of the West Virginia Racing Association, a group representing casinos, said the slot machine subsidies were important because they let the casinos update their facilities to stay competitive with other states.
Neighboring states do not offer similar subsidies to casinos. Tax rates on slot machine revenue are lower in Ohio than they are in West Virginia, but are much higher in Pennsylvania.
Supporters of the new proposed casino in Franklin told the committee that because of its location, it would not draw business away from existing West Virginia casinos.
The casino would hope to target Virginians, specifically from the Lynchburg and Richmond areas. Both Lynchburg and Richmond are nearly a three-hour drive from Franklin, and Richmond is closer to the casino in Charles Town, W.Va., than it is to Franklin.
The bill only would allow a casino to be built if the developers met certain stipulations intended to make it a destination resort. The developers must submit plans to build at least 1,000 home sites and a hotel with at least 150 rooms. And the total cost of the development must be at least $80 million. The development needs to be on at least 1,000 adjoining acres and it must include recreational activities.
Stephen Conrad, a resident of Pendleton County, where the casino would be located, said it would bring about 300 jobs to the area. A U.S. Naval facility in nearby Sugar Grove, W.Va., is scheduled to be repurposed in 2016 and take 330 jobs with it.
2013年3月20日星期三
Survey reveals casino trends
More than ever, Massachusetts gamblers are putting money into slot machines in Rhode Island, according to a new gambling survey released Monday by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's Center for Policy Analysis.
The study, “Bring It On Home, An Overview of Gaming Behavior in New England,” says that 66 percent of the visitors to Twin River in Lincoln, R.I., were from Massachusetts, compared with 27 percent from Rhode Island.
The survey also shows that gamblers are spending less, traveling fewer miles and want amenities other than gambling when they visit a casino, Clyde Barrow, executive director for the UMass center, said after the study was released.
“Convenience gamblers don't care about bells and whistles, they want to play slot machines and they want to do it close to home,” Barrow said.
But increasingly casino venues are attracting nongamblers with amenities such as shopping, restaurants and entertainment.
“The results show that now about 20 percent of the visitors to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun don't gamble at all,” said Barrow, who has been overseeing the survey on gambling habits for six years. “When we first asked the question, 7 percent said they didn't gamble. That's tripled in six years and that's really a national trend.”
That type of information could help guide decisions made by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission as it weighs proposals from developers in the Bay State, Barrow said. Destination casinos need a mix of retail, spas and entertainment beyond the games to compete, he said.
Stephen Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, said developers proposing to build in Massachusetts understand their facilities need to offer attractions beyond slot machines and table games.
“We want Mass. casinos to be innovators,” he said.
The survey shows the number of visits by Massachusetts residents to Twin River increased by 261 percent from 2006 to 2012.
Improvements made at Twin River have attracted more gamblers and with the addition of table games this summer, the Rhode Island facility is likely to continue attracting gamblers from Massachusetts, he said.
The cumulative effect has been an overall reduction in the number of Massachusetts residents who gamble at either Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun, the two Indian casino giants in Connecticut.
Massachusetts residents account for 66 percent, of the decline in the number of visitors to Foxwoods from 2008 to 2012 and 28 percent of the decline in visitors to Mohegan Sun.
With three casinos and a slot parlor planned in Massachusetts, those Connecticut casinos will likely lose even more visitors in the coming years, Barrow said. Mohegan Sun is already feeling the pinch from a slot facility in New York City.
If the single slot parlor in Massachusetts is going to compete with Twin River, which will add table games in July, it will also need more than just an open floor filled with slot machines, he said. “It needs to be a top notch facility,” Barrow said.
Crosby said he's confident Massachusetts casinos can compete. “On the whole we will have our facilities spread out to maximize convenience and have high quality facilities to maximize the experience,” he said.
The study, “Bring It On Home, An Overview of Gaming Behavior in New England,” says that 66 percent of the visitors to Twin River in Lincoln, R.I., were from Massachusetts, compared with 27 percent from Rhode Island.
The survey also shows that gamblers are spending less, traveling fewer miles and want amenities other than gambling when they visit a casino, Clyde Barrow, executive director for the UMass center, said after the study was released.
“Convenience gamblers don't care about bells and whistles, they want to play slot machines and they want to do it close to home,” Barrow said.
But increasingly casino venues are attracting nongamblers with amenities such as shopping, restaurants and entertainment.
“The results show that now about 20 percent of the visitors to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun don't gamble at all,” said Barrow, who has been overseeing the survey on gambling habits for six years. “When we first asked the question, 7 percent said they didn't gamble. That's tripled in six years and that's really a national trend.”
That type of information could help guide decisions made by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission as it weighs proposals from developers in the Bay State, Barrow said. Destination casinos need a mix of retail, spas and entertainment beyond the games to compete, he said.
Stephen Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, said developers proposing to build in Massachusetts understand their facilities need to offer attractions beyond slot machines and table games.
“We want Mass. casinos to be innovators,” he said.
The survey shows the number of visits by Massachusetts residents to Twin River increased by 261 percent from 2006 to 2012.
Improvements made at Twin River have attracted more gamblers and with the addition of table games this summer, the Rhode Island facility is likely to continue attracting gamblers from Massachusetts, he said.
The cumulative effect has been an overall reduction in the number of Massachusetts residents who gamble at either Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun, the two Indian casino giants in Connecticut.
Massachusetts residents account for 66 percent, of the decline in the number of visitors to Foxwoods from 2008 to 2012 and 28 percent of the decline in visitors to Mohegan Sun.
With three casinos and a slot parlor planned in Massachusetts, those Connecticut casinos will likely lose even more visitors in the coming years, Barrow said. Mohegan Sun is already feeling the pinch from a slot facility in New York City.
If the single slot parlor in Massachusetts is going to compete with Twin River, which will add table games in July, it will also need more than just an open floor filled with slot machines, he said. “It needs to be a top notch facility,” Barrow said.
Crosby said he's confident Massachusetts casinos can compete. “On the whole we will have our facilities spread out to maximize convenience and have high quality facilities to maximize the experience,” he said.
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