"I don't think it's going to be an issue of the depth of the gaming market," he said in his relaxed monotone. "I think it's more going to be an issue of the timing" - that is, how long it will take revenues to reach a stable level.
Moldenhauer is fairly new to gambling, though as a developer he has spent much of his career as a risk-taker. His company, Moldenhauer Lifestyles, is a Toronto firm doing residential, commercial and industrial work.
Several years ago, when he decided to seek out his first gambling venture, he looked to New Mexico. His interest predated a 2007 state law that opened the door to a sixth horse track and casino. Moldenhauer beat out several bidders with his project in Raton, a small city just south of the Colorado border.
But the New Mexico deal hit a snag months ago when a politically connected partner, Marc Correra, came under a cloud of controversy. In April, a state board disclosed that Correra had earned millions of dollars in fees from financial firms that won the right to invest part of New Mexico's $12 billion endowment and a pension fund.
Correra, whose father is a friend and ally of Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, has not been accused of wrongdoing. But as New Mexico Gaming Control Board chairman David Norvell recalled, "the word on the street was there was going to be a federal investigation." In late May, Correra said he would quit the track and casino project and withdraw his investment. On June 9 the gaming board granted the license. Moldenhauer said Correra considered investing in the Baltimore slots project but that "it never reached the status of a partnership." Correra's lawyer, reached at his office in New York, had no comment.
Even as Moldenhauer moved ahead with the New Mexico deal, he hoped to find gaming sites closer to Toronto. While scouting around Ontario, he met a fellow Canadian, Paul Micucci, an affable accountant with extensive experience opening slots operations in Canada and the U.S.
In the early 1990s, after a stint in Las Vegas with Deloitte & Touche, Micucci was hired as head of development for the Ontario Casino Corp. That gave him a hand in setting up big casino projects costing $800 million. At the end of the decade, Micucci was brought on by a new quasi-government entity, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., to launch slots at racetracks across the province.
