National Harbor - News, Events, Updates, Questions and Developments Etc. (Baltimore: law, horses)

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Told you it would be here before you know it. I wonder if they'll have the meetings online like last time. It would be nice to see the responses of the applicants. I'm also waiting on the possible interior designs of the MGM resort. Walking into MD Live is kind of uninspiring.

Yeah it has come quick......It sounds like its going to be teleconference where everyone dials into listen only mode except for the commission and the applicant. It would be great if it was a video conference though. I am interested in reading the reports after the meeting. It would be interesting to see what their consultants uncovered. Hopefully their report will also provide a cliff notes to the proposal

[Dmvwhatup]

Does anybody think it doesnt go to MGM.....and why?

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by Dmvwhatup

Does anybody think it doesnt go to MGM.....and why?

That is an interesting question. I would add to that and ask for those believing it will go to MGM, what do you think the impact would be on PGC's entry into the MD gaming industry? Would they(the PGC casino) be competitive with any other operator that is bidding?

[Fast GTO]

Originally Posted by Dmvwhatup

Does anybody think it doesnt go to MGM.....and why?

Depends on how much in bribes each casino paid out. Don't fool yourselves here about it being about the best location. Politics and cronyism plays a role.

[ajsmith365]

Originally Posted by Dmvwhatup

Does anybody think it doesnt go to MGM.....and why?

The reason why I say "IF" with MGM is because...

1) I never count a deal as being done until said thing is operational.

2) One of the other bidders threw in 100% of their revenue for, I believe, the 1st 5 years of operation. I think they did this in order to set themselves up to sue whomever (PGC or state of MD) due to some wreckless comments made by Rushern Baker and others that could look as though there were some bias within the bid process for MGM. Before, and after, a casino was made legal in PG, several county officials vocalized a desire to put the casino in NH and were later told to back off of those comments because that is a big "no-no" in a procurement process as it could show pre-selection, or bias. This is just me thinking here, which is dangerous, but I think the other casino vendor threw in 100% of their profits to beef up their pending lawsuit should they lose the bid.

I think we all look at it and think MGM overlooking the Potomac within NH is fantastic. But, like Fast GTO has stated, we don't know what variables are going on behind the scenes that could influence this bid process. In my eyes, they have the best proposal, and a minority stakeholder makes it even better, but until they cut that ribbon I'm not going to count it a done deal.

[Fast GTO]

That was not 100% as you think. It was 100% after all operating costs and a certain percentage of required profits.

[ajsmith365]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

Yelp is subjective and I agree that some of the reviews get suppressed but, like it or not, a lot of people use that site to decide whether they are going to go to a restaurant or store. More people are going to complain than praise so you have to take it with a grain of salt.

I totally agree with you.

But, I will say that people's opinions are what they are as we all have different experiences. Personally, I've been a born and raised Washingtonian and have been living in Ft. Wash. for under a decade. I can honestly say I see both sides. Some people within these threads about PG are die-hard PG folks and whenever you throw out any criticism they lose it because they have that much passion for their area. Since I don't have that much passion about PG, I can be critical - hopefully doing it constructively and for the good of the county - when I think things were not properly executed. On the other hand, living in the area for so long, I have a vested interest in quality, convenience and increasing value and moral in the area and the NH holdings gives all of us that downstream hope and/or realization.

Some yelpers are going to criticize. But, they may live next to Potomac mills or Tysons Corner which has over 200 and 125, respectively, stores in the mall alone and they came down here to peep out Tanger. When they compare that to 80 stores, then yes you are going to be disappointed. Again, I am hypercritical of NH because, coming from DC, I think the NH selections, in terms of food, sucks. Some restaurants charge DC Coast, Morton's and Ruth Chris prices and the food isn't of the same quality. The only place I find repeatably enjoyable is Cadillac Ranch. Every other place, I get the same meal and I've grown tired of it. Rosa is decent, but they only have 1 or 2 dishes that I eat; whereas, I eat better at Lauriol Plaza or La Sandia in Tysons.

Tanger has all of the brands that I need, so I'm good. I think those negative commenters are probably coming from a different mindset where they've always had what we have lacked for so long; therefore, we are overjoyed and they are like "what's the big deal." I recall being in college and having to deal with NYers continually complain about what DC didn't have and what NY had. The locals would get defensive and suggest they go back to NY, but they stayed and kept complaining. But, when I go down to places like ATL or other southern cities and they are beaming over their development, I smile and say "oh, nice!" but am thinking to myself okay...we've got 30 of these in the DC area. Then, as I spent more time in places like NY and SF, I could see how they felt how they felt about DC. But, even if I lived in Mayberry, I'm not going to let others make me feel inferior to wherever they live. I can shop at the same places they shop at and I'm still going to have pride in where I live and I'm going to take the same philosophy with the Fort Washington and Oxon Hill area.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by ajsmith365

The reason why I say "IF" with MGM is because...

1) I never count a deal as being done until said thing is operational.

2) One of the other bidders threw in 100% of their revenue for, I believe, the 1st 5 years of operation. I think they did this in order to set themselves up to sue whomever (PGC or state of MD) due to some wreckless comments made by Rushern Baker and others that could look as though there were some bias within the bid process for MGM. Before, and after, a casino was made legal in PG, several county officials vocalized a desire to put the casino in NH and were later told to back off of those comments because that is a big "no-no" in a procurement process as it could show pre-selection, or bias. This is just me thinking here, which is dangerous, but I think the other casino vendor threw in 100% of their profits to beef up their pending lawsuit should they lose the bid.

I think we all look at it and think MGM overlooking the Potomac within NH is fantastic. But, like Fast GTO has stated, we don't know what variables are going on behind the scenes that could influence this bid process. In my eyes, they have the best proposal, and a minority stakeholder makes it even better, but until they cut that ribbon I'm not going to count it a done deal.

That's a really really good point. This is not going to be a smooth ride regardless. There is a lot of money at stake here. My understanding is the state is going to have it's say in this process. We know what the county would be interested in, but will the state look at this decision different than the county would have?

I wonder how people in the county would feel about bringing a casino if it's not at National Harbor, which was how it was marketed when the state voted for the change to the casino bill.

[Fast GTO]

Frankly, giving the bid to anyone but MGM might be good for the county. It could result in infrastructure (road) improvements that otherwise wouldn't occur by keeping everything at NH.

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by ajsmith365

The reason why I say "IF" with MGM is because...

1) I never count a deal as being done until said thing is operational.

2) One of the other bidders threw in 100% of their revenue for, I believe, the 1st 5 years of operation. I think they did this in order to set themselves up to sue whomever (PGC or state of MD) due to some wreckless comments made by Rushern Baker and others that could look as though there were some bias within the bid process for MGM. Before, and after, a casino was made legal in PG, several county officials vocalized a desire to put the casino in NH and were later told to back off of those comments because that is a big "no-no" in a procurement process as it could show pre-selection, or bias. This is just me thinking here, which is dangerous, but I think the other casino vendor threw in 100% of their profits to beef up their pending lawsuit should they lose the bid.

I think we all look at it and think MGM overlooking the Potomac within NH is fantastic. But, like Fast GTO has stated, we don't know what variables are going on behind the scenes that could influence this bid process. In my eyes, they have the best proposal, and a minority stakeholder makes it even better, but until they cut that ribbon I'm not going to count it a done deal.

Being from the "Show Me" state I am also reserved to say its done until it is done. It's no secret that I prefer MGM and believe without bias that they have the best proposal but that means nothing until the ribbon is cut. Parx also submitted minority stakeholders with their proposal but if you compare the strengths of both minority groups, Radio One is a lot stronger. As I am talking about it I don't recall PNG identifying a minority stakeholder and I believe that was one of the considerations so it will be interesting to see how that affects them.

But back to my point say they (MGM) are awarded the license at the end of the month like most (including me) hope for, there is a high probability that the other bidders (especially PNG) will protest it. They will also probably face larwsuits by the surrounding community which could at the very least delay the delivery of the project. I am just curious what will happen to the other properties (especially Parx) if they don't get it.