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Analysis: Just as Atlantic City Stems Financial Bleeding, Competition Closes In

Submitted by jhartgen@abi.org on

Atlantic City, N.J., is showing signs of a rebound, after a decade-long decline led to the closing of five of 12 casinos, Bloomberg News reported. With two new venues set to open in 2018, Governor Phil Murphy (D) is projecting the highest casino-tax revenue in eight years — just as more competition has arrived or is coming in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island. Murphy, who took office in January, already is taking steps to end the state takeover of Atlantic City that was pushed by his predecessor, Republican Chris Christie (R), and opposed by local officials, unions and residents. At the same time, Pennsylvania, which overtook Atlantic City as the second-largest U.S. gambling market in 2012, now allows betting at truck stops and airports and has cleared the way for a second Philadelphia casino. “The Northeast is just a disaster waiting to happen,” said Alan Woinski, president of Gaming USA, a Paramus, New Jersey-based gambling consulting company. “There will be closings in the next few years.”

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Connecticut and Hartford Get $2 Billion Offer for Properties

Submitted by jhartgen@abi.org on
A Chicago-based private equity real estate firm is offering as much as $2 billion to purchase office buildings, health-care facilities, transit-related properties and whatever Hartford and Connecticut governments think they can sell, so long as the buyer gets a 7.25 percent initial return, plus annual rent hikes of 1.5 percent, Bloomberg News reported. The offer by Oak Street Real Estate Capital LLC, detailed in letters of intent delivered on Wednesday, leaves the choice of what properties to include up to the governments. Connecticut has been wrestling with an underfunded pension system and chronic budget deficits, in part because the national economic recovery has passed much of the state by, leaving it with fewer jobs than it had a decade ago. Hartford is even worse: The capital avoided bankruptcy last year only because of a bailout by the state. “I just want to see our state make a smart decision,” said Gregory Kraut, a managing partner of K Property Group who is also an elected member of Westport’s town government. “And with my real estate and financial background, I have some options for them.” Kraut, who put together the offer, said he’s acting as a concerned citizen and isn’t taking a commission or a fee from Oak Street. He suggested the state might use the money from real estate sales to reduce its unfunded pension obligations, and Hartford could reduce its debt load.
 
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Connecticut May Add to Ballooning Debt With Hartford Rescue

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One of the nation’s most indebted states could see what it owes get even larger under a plan to rescue its beleaguered capital from bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. Connecticut is planning to cover the payments on $540 million of Hartford’s general-obligation debt as part of an agreement it reached with the city. Hartford, a 123,000-resident city whose government has struggled to close budget shortfalls and revive its economy, owes almost $755 million in principal and interest through 2036. That step adds to the financial burdens on Connecticut, which has been contending with its chronic deficits. At $6,505, Connecticut’s net tax-supported debt per capita was the highest of any state, according to a Moody’s Investors Service report last year. The figure has grown from $5,185 in Moody’s 2013 report.

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Missouri Hospital Files for Bankruptcy

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A hospital district in Pilot Knob, Mo., filed for municipal bankruptcy protection from its creditors yesterday, Bloomberg News reported. The Iron County Hospital District, which owns a local hospital, listed liabilities between $10 and $50 million and assets between $1 million and $10 million. The district has about $6.5 million in bonds outstanding, said Daniel Doyle, a lawyer at Lashly & Baer who is representing the district.