Casino Date for Wynn and Kraft, Resorts' Gomes Has a Tough Year

by Jack Prophet | Dec 6 2011

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1 Casino Titan plus 1 Football Owner = New England Casino
It appears that the unstoppable combination of casino billionaire Steve Wynn and football billionaire Robert Kraft will likely result in a new casino resort next to Foxborough Stadium. As a public symbol of their soon to be union, Wynn joined Kraft in the owner's box at Foxborough as the New England Patriots easily beat the hapless and winless Indianapolis Colts. Kraft even went so far as to refer to Wynn as the “Bill Belichick of casinos" which one assumes is a compliment.

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It hasn't been a secret that Wynn and Kraft have been talking, but it has only been for about eight months which is speed dating in business terms. What spurred the two business alpha males to pool their talents was the recent decision by the government of Massachusetts to allow expanded gambling and resort style casinos. Given the proximity to the city of Boston, any large casino complex at Foxborough will be hard pressed not to make a considerable sum of money just from slot machines alone.

However as with any budding relationship there are always challenges that will test a couple's ability to prosper together long term. In this case there is serious competition from a group that is endorsed by the Mayor of Boston and local members of Congress, although given both Wynn and Kraft's winning track records it will be hard to bet against them.

Casino Boss Says it's Not Easy Being on Top
Dennis Gomes gave himself a B minus rating when asked to appraise his first year running Atlantic City's Resorts Casino. Gomes, who bought the casino with New York real estate mogul Morris Bailey in late 2010, has been the day to day capo at Resorts and on whose shoulders success or failure will fall.

Gomes however seems up to the challenge and has worked in the casino industry for some years most recently as the CEO of the Tropicana in Atlantic City. Prior to overseeing baccarat and roulette in Atlantic City, Gomes was a criminal investigator in Las Vegas where he was involved in several mafia investigations and organized crime arrests.

Regardless of his storied background Gomes has had a trying 2011 both professionally and personally. When Bailey and Gomes bought Resorts they let all the staff go and then offered them their jobs back at entry level salaries- resulting in as much as a 50% reduction in wages. Needless to say the employees' union was less than happy and staged a number of distracting and effective protests throughout the year.

In addition Atlantic City was hit by a hurricane in August which necessitated all casinos closing down over the year's busiest weekend and losing much needed revenue as a result. Further, Gomes himself took one for the team when he broke his back try to prevent a heavy marble table from overturning. Ultimately the only score sheet that matters showed that Resort and Gomes lost 18 million dollars in 2010.

Despite the bearish numbers Gomes remains upbeat about the prospects for 2011 and promises that the beleaguered resort will be breakeven by the end of that year. Certainly if he can dodge more labour troubles, hurricanes, and new casinos in Massachusetts then he might just make it.

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