Project Details
Location
New Mexico Racing Commission
Skills
Project feasibility, market research, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Economic Impact, Social Impact
Project Description
Convergence Strategy Group was engaged by the New Mexico Racing Commission to evaluate the potential net revenues, racing industry impacts, economic impacts, and societal impacts of adding a sixth racino to the state. In all, CSG fairly evaluated the merits of bids from six different operators, each of which proposed a different building program, amenity mix, and racing schedule, with the only commonality being the number of slot machines to be offered (the five bids reflected proposals for three different cities). As part of the comparative analysis, CSG evaluated not only the revenue potential and patronage for each of the facilities that the bidders proposed, but also what the amenity mixes would drive in terms of relative gross gaming revenues and racing handle. From an economic impact perspective, it was also necessary to do staffing estimates based on the scale of the racinos proposed, as several of the locations proposed for the racinos appeared to have population bases insufficient to supply labor for the operations. We attended public meetings to gain an understanding of the degree of public support for a casino in the respective communities vying for a racetrack and casino, including the concerns about potential impacts on crime, water supply, traffic and city services. Follow-up interviews were done with city officials to gain an understanding of how and whether the cities were prepared to deal with these potential issues, should the be selected as the license winning location. The report also provided a comparative socio-economic impact analysis of recently-developed casino cities and towns across the U.S., and their experiences with respect to pathological gambling, crime and personal bankruptcies. The final report can be accessed here.