Brockton casino developer renews pitch, says demographics are strong

Two weeks after developers withdrew plans for a $650 million casino in New Bedford, saying investors were skeptical that the venture could succeed financially in a crowded market, supporters of a casino in Brockton moved to stake its claim to the state's final casino license in Southeastern Massachusetts before the state’s gaming commission.

“We’re convinced that a Brockton project will be successful,” said Neil Bluhm, chairman of Rush Street Gaming, which runs casinos in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and outside Chicago. “This market is basically under-penetrated.”

A casino south of Boston would face competition from casinos in Rhode Island and Connecticut, as well as a possible tribal casino in Taunton. That has given members of the gaming commission pause, unsure whether a casino in the region is now viable.

KG Urban, a New York-based developer, spent more than $10 million toward a casino license before acknowledging it could not put together the necessary financing.

But Bluhm argued that Brockton’s location, just off Route 24 and well north of New Bedford and Taunton, gives it a demographic edge.

“We will get business before they will,” Bluhm said, referring to people traveling south.

More than four times as many people live within a 30-minute drive of Brockton as New Bedford, Bluhm said.

“You’ve got to have people to be successful,” he said. New Bedford, he added, “just didn’t have the demographics.”

While a casino in Taunton proposed by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe would hurt business, a Brockton casino could still thrive, he said. The fate of that proposal, he said, was very much in question.

“The tribal casino is very uncertain,” he said.

In contrast, the Brockton plan was “shovel-ready,” and could open in the summer of 2018 if it was licensed this year, he told the commission.

“We wouldn’t be putting up all this equity if we weren’t convinced this would be a successful project,” he said. “We would ask that you move quickly, and we will do the same.”

In May, Brockton voters narrowly approved plans for a $650 million casino at the Brockton Fairgrounds. Proponents touted the plan as a financial boon for a struggling city that would provide badly needed jobs and revenue.

Mayor Bill Carpenter said the casino would bring $12 million in annual revenue to the city, which was forced to lay off 70 teachers this year because of a massive budget shortfall.

The money would allow the city to restore public safety positions and spend more on the public school system, which has added 1,000 students in the past few years.

The casino would also promote economic growth and improve the city’s image, he said.

“Brockton changes from a city to drive through to a city to drive to,” he said.

The commission said it would continue to review the plan.