Why Is Former NBA Commissioner David Stern Involved in the Southeast Mass. Casino Sweepstakes?
The process of awarding the southeastern Massachusetts casino license—the last one up for grabs in the state—has seen its share of challenges over the last couple of years. But New York-based developer KG Urban Enterprises has maintained a consistent interest in the license throughout, with hopes of putting a casino in New Bedford.
Last week, former NBA Commissioner David Stern spoke for KG Urban at a Massachusetts Gaming Commission meeting. He said Foxwoods is interested in partnering on the New Bedford property, and that the company is also in talks with two other gaming organizations to operate a casino there.
Wait, back up. David Stern?
Yes, indeed, that David Stern, the one who presided over the NBA for a solid 30 years before handing over the reins to Adam Silver last February. Stern is a lawyer, having graduated from Columbia Law School in 1966. He’s now the leader of DJS (that’s David Joel Stern) Global Advisors, a corporation registered with the state of New York a week before his NBA retirement last year. KG Urban, it turns out, is a beneficiary of that global advice. And, for that matter, it’s also getting some fatherly guidance from the former commish. Stern’s son, Andrew Stern, is the managing director of KG Urban and is described as “the primary point of contact with the gaming industry in KG’s efforts to create joint ventures to pursue KG gaming redevelopment projects’’ on the company’s website.
KG Urban declined through a spokesperson to further discuss Stern’s role in seeking the license, citing ongoing negotiations with potential casino operators.
Stern said earlier this week that he supports the expansion of sports betting. His successor, Silver, made waves last year when he endorsed further legalization of the practice.
The southeastern casino competition has been long delayed, but KG Urban, which previously partnered with Las Vegas Sands on a casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has been circling it for years. As recently as early January, it looked like KG Urban may be the only contender. But a few other candidates sprouted up after the New Year.
A group that includes George Carney, owner of the Brockton Fairgrounds, who had vied for the slots parlor license last year, wants to bring a Rush Street Gaming casino to the fairgrouds.
Two other interested parties—Crossroads Massachusetts (which sought to partner with Foxwoods in Milford before voters shot down the idea in late 2013) and Somerset on the Move—have teamed up and are looking to build in Somerset.
Another applicant, Seafan Trust, had proposed a $4 billion resort in an undisclosed location. (Wynn Resorts’s Everett development, for comparison, is expected to cost $1.7 billion.) Seafan didn’t make the $400,000 application payment ahead of a January 31 deadline and has been taken off the table by the gaming commission, according to The Boston Globe. That leaves KG Urban, the Carney/Rush partnership (called Mass Gaming & Entertainment), and the Somerset group still standing.
The southeast license has been considered risky for whoever earns it. Not only will the casino compete against Rhode Island’s gambling spots, but the proposed Mashpee Wampanoag casino in Taunton could still go forward, which would create a competitor in the its own regional turf. If that came to pass, Massachusetts would be home to four casinos and a slots parlor. Then-Governor Deval Patrick told the Globe in December that four full casinos would be too many. Even gaming commission chairman Stephen Crosby said such a scenario is “not in anybody’s interest…it’s oversaturation.’’
But hey, David Stern’s never been afraid of a little bit of adversity.
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