Getting to the Final Four: $140 for Some UConn Students, Multiples Higher for Fans

For 51 UConn undergraduate students, $100 will provide a round trip to Texas for the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four as UConn pursues a National Championship.  For everyone else, the price tag is considerably steeper – and climbing.

UConn’s Undergraduate Student Government is sponsoring a bus to take students from Storrs to Texas this weekend. The bus will depart from Storrs at 6:00 AM on Friday and is expected to arrive in Arlington, Texas no later than 1:00PM Saturday – in time for the early evening game at AT&T Stadium.

The student government is not responsible for meals, lodging or other accommodations at any point during the trip, but will get the fortunate 51 (first come, first served, of course) within shouting distance of the Final Four.  For a shot at a bus ticket, however, students must have proof that they are already a NCAA student ticket holder for the Final Four, showing an email confirmation from the official NCAA purchase process. Student General Admission ticket price:  $40.

Why take the bus? Norwalk-based priceline.com is reporting that the national average airfare to Dallas/Ft. Worth is around $340, but the average round trip airfare from Bradley International Airport is $604.  By comparison, the average round trip fare from the home cities of the other Final Four are less - Jacksonville is $541, $584 from Wisconsin, and $385 from Lexington, priceline.com reported.  The average rate for an economy or compact rental car at the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport is $60 a day for the weekend dates.

Online ticket aggregator TiqiQ reports that the average ticket price for the two semi-final match-ups on Saturday, as of April 2, is $1,091.81.  (A ticket for just one of the semi-finals runs averages about $595.) The Championship Game ticket for next Monday night is going for an average of $580.70.  That’s a slight drop from earlier in the week, but an increase of about 20 percent over the ticket price a week ago, before the four contenders for the National Championship were determined.

PrimeSport, the Official Ticket Exchange of the NCAA Final Four, lists available tickets ranging from $335.75 in the upper deck of the AT&T Arena to $4,037.50 in Row U facing mid-court.  There remain tickets available.

Compared to the last four years, this is shaping up as the second-most expensive price for NCAA tournament tickets to the final four, behind only last years’ Final Four in Atlanta, Forbes magazine reported this week. Last year, the average price for the semi-final game was $887, which was driven up by three big programs in Louisville, Michigan, and Syracuse, in addition to Wichita State. The lowest price for final four tickets over the last four years was 2011, the last time UConn won the national championship, the magazine reported.

Students holding the prized $40 tickets will not be able to resell them on the secondary market, TIME magazine reported this week. Students from the Final Four competitors - UConn, Wisconsin, Florida and Kentucky - must provide valid student ID’s, verification of purchase, and the originating credit card to gain entry to the Final Four stadium.

The Final Four at AT&T Stadium is expected to bring the largest crowd ever to attend a NCAA tournament game college basketball game. The previous record was the 75,421 people that saw the 2011 Final Four semifinal games at Houston's Reliant Stadium. This year’s Final Four may also break the all-time college basketball attendance record of 78,129, Huffington Post reported.

As for the return trip for the 51 UConn students taking the bus from Storrs, there are two scenerios: should UConn lose on Saturday, the bus will depart from Arlington at 9:00AM on Sunday, April 5. If the Huskies advance to the championship, the bus will depart from Arlington at 8:00AM Tuesday, April 8.  Sleep deprived, at the very least.

Investor Opportunities in Mobile Technology, Consumer Products Focus of Back-to-Back Conferences

It is described as “the Biggest and Most Disruptive Platform in Human History,” by William Davidson, Senior Vice President of Qualcomm.  Davidson will be the keynote speaker Wednesday in New Haven at “Connecticut Mobile Summit – Exploring Mobile Venture Opportunities and Challenges.”  Connecticut’s top mobile industry executives will be meeting to discuss how to accelerate mobile adoption, engagement and monetization, according to conference organizers.

Conference officials note that “penetration of smart phones into the workplace has been persistent since the iPhone launch in June of 2007. More recently, tablets have supplanted PCs as productivity boosters.”  The Connecticut Mobile Summit is designed to help educate Connecticut’s investment and technology communities in mobile venture opportunities and challenges.

In addition to Davidson, expert panelists participating include Carissa Ganelli, Founder & CEO, LightningBuy; Drue Hontz, Founder & President, KAZARK, Inc.; John Nobile, Founder & President, Tangen Biosciences; and Nadav Ullman, Founder & CEO, Dashride.

“In three to five years any enterprise that has not implemented mobility solutions for its customers, employees, and suppliers will be leapfrogged, disintermediated, or go bankrupt. Connecticut cannot afford to be behind this curve,” observed event moderator, Brenda Lewis, Principal of Transactions Marketing, Inc.

Davidson is senior vice president of strategy and operations for Global Market Development in Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. In this role, he handles reporting and operations as well as executing on strategic global business initiatives. In addition, Davidson is senior vice president of investor relations where he serves as the primary liaison with the investment community and Qualcomm shareholders. Davidson has more than 25 years of experience in technical sales, marketing and general management roles in the telecommunications industry.

The half-day conference is being presented by the Connecticut Technology Council, Crossroads Venture Group and AT&T. The event is supported by Mea Mobile.

Opening remarks will come from Bruce Carlson, Acting CEO & President of the Connecticut Technology Council, Liddy Karter, Executive Director of Crossroads Venture Group, and Claire Leonardi, CEO of the recently re-branded Connecticut Innovations.  The event is $40 for members of the Connecticut Technology Council and Crossroads Venture Group, $50 for non-members.

The following day, the Northeast Consumer Product Conference will be held in Stamford, with the Connecticut Technology Council and Crossroads Venture Group joined by the Connecticut chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) as sponsors.  The conference is described as the Northeast’s largest ‘mergers and acquisitions’ conference focused on early state and middle market consumer-facing companies.  It brings together operators, buyers, investors, and transaction professionals to discuss the challenges and opportunities within consumer industries.

The Stamford conference will include expert-led panels reviewing the state of the capital markets and share strategies for consumer marketing in a digital world, for both early and late stage firms.

Keynote presentation will be from Mike McMahon, President, Spire, a Datalogix company.  Panelists for a session on “Raising Capital in Today's Environment,”  to be moderated by Ramsey Goodrich, Managing Director, Carter Morse & Mathias, include Richard Baum, Managing Partner, Consumer Growth, Partners; Christopher Bradley, Principal, Mistral Equity Partners; and Tom Hayes, Managing Partner & Principal, New England Consulting Group.

ACG CT President Karin (McKittrick) Kovacic said, “This conference brings together owners and managers with investors and transaction professionals to discuss the challenges and opportunities within the consumer products sectors.”

The Connecticut Chapter of ACG is one of the fastest growing ACG chapters in the country, with close to 300 local professionals focused on middle-market corporate growth (i.e.: mergers and acquisitions, financing opportunities, business development, joint ventures, licensing arrangements, etc.), including a diverse group of private equity funds, intermediaries, lenders, and service providers.

The Connecticut Technology Council (CTC) is a statewide association of technology oriented companies and institutions, providing leadership in areas of policy advocacy, community building and assistance for growing companies.  With over 2,000 member companies that employ some 200,000 residents, the CTC works to position Connecticut as a leader in idea creation, workforce preparation, entrepreneurial aptitude, early stage risk capital availability and providing on-going support and mentoring to high potential firms.

Survey Says: Increase Consumer Protections, Limit Marketing of Alternative Electric Companies

Too much.  That’s the opinion of Connecticut residents age 50 plus when it comes to the steady barrage of marketing by alternative electricity companies, according to a new survey by AARP Connecticut.  The survey found that 82 percent of electricity customers age 50 and older had been solicited in the past 12 months by an electric supplier – and that a significant 25 percent of the customers had changed electric suppliers during the year.

There was also a clear mandate to reign in the marketing.   Nearly three out of four people would prefer that companies be limited to marketing to consumers only once a year.

A robust 88 percent expressed concern about the increasing costs of electricity.  However, most cite loyalty with their current supplier (35%), or not finding alternative suppliers with more competitive rates (21%) as reasons they chose not to switch carriers.  Sixteen percent cited negative perceptions or concerns about alternative suppliers, such as bad reputations (6%), being untrustworthy (4%), having variable rates (4%) or being bound by contracts (2%).

The marketing takes many forms.  The majority of customers said they have received offers from alternative suppliers through the mail (74%) and by phone (58%).  Additionally, a considerable number (13%) say representatives have knocked on their door at home.  The marketing tactics have generated strong support among those over 50 for limits:

• 84 percent support requiring sales staff to wear badges to identify themselves and their company
• 65 percent support requiring sales staff to tell consumers they have seven days in which they can terminate their contract
• 64 percent support requiring sales staff to provide written terms of sales agreements while on-site.

AARP Connecticut pointed out that a study by Connecticut’s Office of Consumer Counsel found that nine out of ten customers who switched to a third party supplier in CL&P’s territory and seven out of ten customers in UI’s territory were paying more than standard rages during the study period.  The overpayments, according to AARP, totaled about $13.7 million per month –“money that residents, especially older adults on fixed incomes, could be spending on basic necessities like groceries and medication,”  AARP noted.

Ninety percent of those surveyed supported proposals to protect consumers by requiring suppliers to disclose all costs associated with their prices, including early termination fees and minimum monthly charges, and 85 percent supported requiring suppliers who offer variable rate contracts to provide specific comparison information.

“It’s clear from these survey results, and from the stories our members have shared with us, that electric customers don’t feel like they’re getting a fair shake,” said AARP Connecticut Advocacy Director, John Erlingheuser.  “They’re fed up with high electric rates, with the constant marketing and questionable practices of third-party suppliers, and with the lack of oversight and enforcement by state regulators.  They want their elected officials to do more to help lower rates and ensure adequate consumer protections are in place in the alternative electric supply market.”

Among those surveyed, 77 percent were CL&P customers, and 16 percent were United Illuminating customers.  The survey pointed out to respondents that consumer electric bills are divided into two major sections: delivery and generation supply. CL&P and United Illuminating are the primary delivery companies in Connecticut. Since 2000, the supply portion of the bill has been deregulated, “meaning that independent companies, known as ‘electric suppliers,’ can compete to sell or supply you electricity.”  CL&P and UI continue to supply as well as deliver to consumers, but under deregulation, electric supply can be provided by other companies.  The deregulation plan was adopted by state government in an effort to reduce prices through a competitive marketplace.

Testifying at the state legislature last month, AARP Connecticut indicated that an array of unscrupulous marketing practices are luring consumers – especially those over age 50 - with seemingly attractive offers, only to have consumers receive bills charging rates often well in excess those that consumers had been paying previously.  They outlined a series of reforms that would better protect consumers.

In testimony before the Energy & Technology Committee, AARP Connecticut stated “What proponents of deregulation failed to recognize that markets require supervision, consumer protections, and proper enforcement. Some marketers have turned to means to capture customer interest and agreement that have resulted in complaints, misrepresentation of prices, the use of variable rates that are not predictable or even plainly stated, teaser rates, the renewal of fixed rate contracts into variable rate contracts without affirmative customer consent, and a host of telemarketing and door to door activities that confuse customers and take advantage of their lack of education and understanding of the terms being proposed to them in a hard sell marketing technique.”

Connecticut's Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) held a series of public hearings in February to solicit public comment in its ongoing investigation of the electric supplier market in Connecticut.  The agency provides a list of electric suppliers and aggregators on its website.  Earlier this month, Attorney General George Jepson and State Consumer Counsel Elin Katz called for enhanced consumer protections, CT Watchdog reported.

AARP Connecticut commissioned a telephone survey of 800 Connecticut residents age 50 and older to learn about their opinions on electric utility marketing and regulations.  The interviews took place between March 11 and March 16, and the data was weighted to reflect the Connecticut population age 50 and older.  The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

Intensive Workshops for Would-Be Journalists Return This Summer

Investigative journalism is alive and well, and in the midst of passing the baton to a new generation.  That’s the premise driving a one-week journalism workshop being run by leading professionals, to be held at three locations for Connecticut high school students this summer.  It is the most extensive program of its kind in the state, and one of just three in New England.

With expert practitioners providing the instruction, high school students interested in refining their research and writing skills, while learning about the evolving field of journalism from award-winning writers and editors, are perfect candidates. Now in their fourth year, the specialized workshops, offered by the Connecticut Health Investigative Team (C-HIT) will be held at:

•   University of Connecticut (Storrs), July 14-18
•   Quinnipiac University (Hamden), July 21-25
•   Yale University (New Haven), July 28-Aug. 1

The non-profit C-HIT is a web-based news service dedicated to producing original, responsible, in-depth journalism on issues of health and safety, in Connecticut and the surrounding region. Consisting of a team of award-winning journalists, based in Connecticut, who have come together to provide the public with informative stories about health, safety and medical issues, C-HIT stories regularly appear in newspapers, on websites, and in broadcast media statewide.

The student workshops provide select students with the opportunity to spend a week on a university campus, learning the tools of investigative journalism by participating in seminars led by current, active professional journalists.  High school students age 16 and older are eligible to apply, and sessions are limited to 20 students each.  Full and partial scholarships are available.

Students will work on developing stories for publication, gaining first-hand experience in what it takes to assemble the research and do the homework essential to effective journalism.  In addition, as part of the program, the students will spend a day visiting local newsrooms.

The team of instructors include:  

• Kate Farrish, formerly an award-winning reporter for the Hartford Courant and now a UConn adjunct professor of journalism;
• Lisa Chedekel, C-HIT senior writer and co-founder, and formerly an investigative reporter for the Courant, where she won several national awards
• Lynne DeLucia, C-HIT Editor and a Pulitzer Prize-winning former Courant editor.

C-HIT's workshop graduates have gone on to study at major universities, have been awarded scholarships through the Dow Jones News Fund, and have secured internships at major newspapers, including the Courant.  For information, go to www.c-hit.org or contact Lynne DeLucia at delucia@c-hit.org.

The only other intensive journalism program for high school students in Connecticut is offered by the Yale Daily News, the university’s student-run newspaper.  The publication’s Summer Journalism Program runs for one week in mid-August, and is geared toward those with writing or journalism experience, although any Connecticut high-school student with an interest in journalism, writing or photography can apply.  Details are available at sjp@yaledailynews.com.

France Replaces Canada As #1 Nation for Connecticut Exports in 2013

France replaced Canada as Connecticut’s top export partner in 2013.  Exports to France jumped from 1.9 billion to 2.4 billion, compared with the previous year, while exports from Connecticut to Canada remained steady at 1.9 billion.  During 2013, France received 14.8 percent of the state’s exports, while Canada received 11.6 percent, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Germany (1.4 billion), United Arab Emirates (1.2 billion) and Mexico ($1.2 billion) round out Connecticut’s top five for 2013.  Germany also ranked third in 2012.   In 2013, UAE edged Mexico for fourth place among Connecticut’s leading export recipients, the reverse of their standing the previous year.    

Overall, shipments of merchandise from Connecticut in 2013 totaled $16.5 billion, according to data from the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration – an increase of 3.2 percent from the previous year.  Connecticut was one of 16 states setting annual export records.  Exports were 15.9 billion a year ago, which was a drop from 16.2 billion in 2011 and 16.0 billion in 2010.

Overall, the European Union was Connecticut’s largest export market, with average exports (2011-2013) totaling $6 billion annually, the agency’s report noted.

The state's largest merchandise export category is Transportation Equipment, which accounted for $8.0 billion of Connecticut's total merchandise exports in 2013, a category dominated by civilian aircraft, engines and parts, according to Commerce Department data. Other top merchandise exports are Machinery, Except Electrical ($1.9billion), Computer & Electronic Products ($1.3billion), Chemicals ($998 million), and Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components ($760 million).

After the top five, Connecticut’s export recipients, in order, are China, United Kingdom, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Netherlands, Brazil, Malaysia, Qatar and Turkey, rounding out the top 15.

In a year-to-year comparison of 2013 to 2012, exports to France increased by a substantial 27 percent, to Singapore by 13.6 percent and to the UAE by 12.3 percent.  Exports to Columbia jumped 232 percent, from $66 million to $219 million.  Exports dropped slightly to Japan, China, Malaysia and the Netherlands.

The United States currently has free trade agreements in force with 20 countries, which account for $5.0 billion (30 percent) of Connecticut’s exports. During the past 10 years, exports from Connecticut to these markets grew by 69 percent, with NAFTA, Korea, Singapore, Colombia, and Israel showing the largest dollar growth during this period, the agency reported.

Connecticut’s goods exports to all Trans-Pacific Partnership markets increased by 9 percent from 2011 to 2013. During this period, 29 percent of Connecticut’s total goods exports went to the TPP nations, which include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.  In 2013, 44 percent of total U.S. exports went to TPP nations, where the U.S. has focused on “creating a high standard, regional agreement that opens new markets and knits together existing U.S. trade agreements,” according to the agency’s update report.

The U.S. set an all-time record 2.3 trillion in exports in 2013.  Joining Connecticut in reaching state export records (see interactive map) were Texas, California, Washington, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Mississippi, Maryland, Colorado and Oklahoma.

Over one-quarter (27.4 percent) of all manufacturing workers in Connecticut depended on exports for their jobs, according to 2011, the most recent available in that category.  A total of 6,020 companies exported from Connecticut locations in 2011. Of those, 5,357(89.0percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees. Small and medium-sized firms generated over one quarter (26.6percent) of Connecticut's total exports of merchandise in 2011.

Women Aren’t Leading Nation's Top Art Museums; Connecticut Fares Better

When the Wadsworth Atheneum, America’s oldest public art museum, hired Susan Lubowsky Talbott as Executive Director in 2008, she was described by the museum’s board chair as “the absolute best person on the face of this planet to lead the way.”

Talbott, who will be marking six years at the helm of the state’s leading art museum, came to the state after three years as the director of Smithsonian Arts at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.  Previously, she was director and C.E.O. of the Des Moines Art Center from 1998 to 2005, where she formed partnerships with more than 100 community organizations and is credited with doubling museum attendance during her first two years.

Having a woman at the helm of a leading art museum is more the exception than the rule, according to a report by the Association of Art Museums Directors, a professional organization, The New York Times reported recently.   The organization indicated that women run jut a quarter of the biggest art museums in the United States and Canada, and earn a third less than their male counterparts.

The report also noted that “strides made by women at small and midsize museums” (often university or contemporary art institutions) where women hold nearly half of the directorships and earn on a par with men.  Just five of the 33 most prominent art museums are led by women.

Amy Meyers is Director of the Yale Center for British Art.  The Yale Center for British Art is a public art museum and research institute for the study of British art and culture. Presented to Yale University by Paul Mellon (Yale College, Class of 1929), the Center houses the largest collection of British art outside the United Kingdom.  Meyers has served since 2002. A Yale alumna (she earned a Ph.D. in American studies in 1985), Meyers was previously curator of American art at the Henry E. Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.

As director of the Yale Center for British Art, Meyers has worked to strengthen the museum's role as a leading research and educational institute in the history of arts, while continuing its active exhibitions program. She has reached out to students, faculty and scholars to involve them in the life of the center and created a Preservation Committee to oversee conservation of the current museum site.

As for the other leading museums in the state, it’s reigning men.

The New Britain Museum of American Art, founded in 1903, was the first institution in this country devoted to collecting and exhibiting American art. The Museum’s collection comprises more than five thousand works and is constantly expanding in an effort to reflect our ever-evolving culture.  Leading the effort is director is Douglas Hyland.  Hyland arrived in 1999 from the San Antonio Museum, where he was director.  In a 2009 article, Connecticut magazine reported that “in the 10 years since his arrival, Hyland has doubled its collection to 10,000 objects. He has also doubled its full-time staff, from 12 to 24, doubled the number of docents, to 100, and more than doubled museum membership, from 1,200 to 3,500.”

The director of the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme, the home of American Impressionism, is Jeff Anderson. Peter C. Sutton is Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich.  Bruce Museum offers a changing array of exhibitions and educational programs that promote the understanding and appreciation of art and science.  The Lyman Allyn Art Museum in New London interim Director is James Eckerle. LAAM is the only museum in Southeastern Connecticut to offer a comprehensive collection of European art as well as American fine and decorative art: the permanent collection is comprised of over 10,000 objects.

Although not an art museum, prominent in Connecticut’s museum roster is the Mark Twain House & Museum, where Cindy Lovell, not yet a year into her position as Executive Director, has been characterized by a focus on Twain and education in her career.  After working for years as a university professor, she became director of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home in Hannibal, Mo. Her next stop was Hartford.

The Times reported that women leading art museum with budgets of over $20 million across the country are Kimerly Rorschach, who was hired in 2012 to lead the Seattle Art Museum, Janet Carding at the Royal Ontario Museum, Karol Wight at the Corning Museum of Glass, Nathalie Bondil at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Kaywin Feldman at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Photos:  Susan Lubowsky Talbott (left) and Amy Meyers; Wadsworth Atheneum.

Passenger Traffic Gaining Altitude At Bradley - Gradually

Flying high?  Well, sort of.  Bradley International Airport reports an increase of 1 percent in passenger counts for 2013, including four consecutive months of growth at the end of the year.

The Connecticut Airport Authority assumed oversight of Bradley in July from the state Department of Transportation.  That effectuating Gov. Malloy’s proposal, approved by the state legislature two years ago, for a new quasi-state agency that would be more responsive to market opportunities and less grounded in the state’s bureaucratic procedures.

The numbers increased 1 percent in September, 4 percent in October, 3 percent in November, and a lofty 20 percent in December, the Hartford Business Journal reported.  The overall count of passengers getting on and off planes at Bradley was 5,421,875 in 2013, compared to 5,381,860 in 2012.

Looking slightly farther back, in 2009 the total was 5,334,322.  The Bradley International Airport Strategic Plan for 2010-2013, prepared in 2009, anticipated 6,545,000 enplanements and deplanements in 2013 – about 125,000 more that the actual totals.  At that time, an annual average growth rate of 6.2 percent was projected.  The same report called for additional growth in passengers of 3.4 percent annually for 2013 – 2018.  The projections were provided in the InterVISTAS report, Bradley International Air Traffic Forecasts – Final Report, dated April 25, 2010.

So much for predictions.

Bradley continued its end-of-year growth pattern at the start of 2014, with passenger counts increasing 9 percent in January.  There is, however, a long way to go to achieve the numbers projected years ago, which are necessary to come within range of what’s needed to bring plans for a new terminal off the drawing boards and into construction.

Earlier this year, it was reported that if passenger counts increase as currently projected, and other conditions are realized, construction of a new Terminal B would tentatively begin in just under a decade, in 2022. The entire complex, with the additional new terminal, would be up and running by about 2024 at the earliest. 

Before that threshold is reached – which remains uncertain – plans are to proceed with roadway realignment, scheduled to start in late 2015 or early 2016, with completion in late 2017 or early 2018.  That would include a rotary to be built where the Route 20 connector, off Interstate 91 Exit 40, to the garage’s exit road, and a new access road to a newly constructed transportation center.

The elevated road in front of Terminal A just past the Sheraton would remain, then all upper level traffic would be diverted to the lower level. The elevated roadway in front of Terminal B will be demolished.

That would make space for a new ground transportation center, which is expected to have a rental car facility, about 800 public parking spaces and a transit center with curbside services for limousines, taxis, and buses.  Just about anyone driving past the old, rusting and vacant terminal eagerly anticipates its demolition, as much as the array of new services that are planned to replace it.

Frequent Gamblers Prefer Atlantic City; Connecticut Casino Customers Satisfied As Competition Grows

A new study shows that the Atlantic City casinos continue to lead the way in attracting the gamblers who visit casinos most often, but Connecticut’s casinos are not far behind.  The review of players club members at casinos throughout the mid-Atlantic region reflects an industry becoming more competitive as frequent gamblers have more choices.  The study found that

• the region’s biggest gamblers are playing in Atlantic City, NJ
• frequent gamblers at Connecticut's casinos bring more than $300 to gamble
• gamblers frequenting upstate New York casinos have the lowest daily gaming budget in the Mid-Atlantic region
• table gamblers generally have an average gambling budget of almost twice that of slots player,
• 35-44 year olds bring the most gambling money to the casinos.

The casino markets included in the survey were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Massachusetts.  The survey, called Casino SCORES, conducted 3,000 interviews with individuals who live in one of the states, had made at least three visits to a casino in the region during the past year, and were members of at least one players club.

The study asked gamblers their average daily gaming budget when going to casinos in the  region. Of the 43 casinos evaluated in the study, the highest daily gaming budgets were among individuals that go to the Atlantic City casinos most often, followed by Foxwoods in Connecticut and Lady Luck Casino at Nemacolin Resort in Pennsylvania.

The top five average daily gaming budgets were:  Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa (Atlantic City), $478; Trump Taj Mahal (Atlantic City), $450; Golden Nugget (Atlantic City),  $444; Trump Plaza, (Atlantic City), $405; and Foxwoods Resort Casino (Connecticut), and Lady Luck Casino at Nemacolin (Pennsylvania), both at $388.  Mohegan Sun was further down the list at $324, but well above the majority of casinos.  The bottom five, all in New York, ranged from $205 down to $120 average daily individual gaming budgets.

The Average Daily Gaming Budget among those who said they play table games most often was $493, compared with $250 among those who responded that they play slots most often.

The survey also found that the 35-to-44 year old age bracket brings the most money with them to the casino they visit most often, compared with other age groups. 21 to 34 -  $334 35 to 44 - $359 45 to 64 - $308 65 and over - $288

Among those surveyed who had joined at least one casino's players club, 41 percent did so at an Atlantic City casino, 31 percent were members of Mohegan Players Club, and 25 percent joined Foxwoods Rewards.  Membership overlapped, as some individuals surveyed were members of more than one players program.

Competition To Retain, Attract Frequent Gamblers Intensifying

With Massachusetts moving forward with its  casino licensing process, the region will continue to see heightened competition in the coming years.  A new casino opened in Maryland last year, and two more are planned in the next three years.   The increasing competition is already having an impact on the revenue stream to the state in accordance with longstanding exclusivity agreements.  At the end of the fiscal year last summer, the two Connecticut casinos sent a total of $296.4 million to the state, a drop of almost $48 million from fiscal 2012.

Massachusetts’ regulators recently awarded a slot parlor license to Plainridge Racecourse which is just 20 miles from Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island.  The Massachusetts gambling commission expects to award the license  for Western Massachusetts in May, with an MGM proposal for Springfield the only project left in the running after a Mohegan Sun proposal was defeated in a  local referendum in nearby Palmer. In addition, two proposals are competing for the license in the greater Boston region, Mohegan Sun in Revere and Wynn Resorts in Everett.

“As competition heats up, keeping and growing loyalty is going to be key,” said John Antonello, Managing Director of Travel and Leisure Entertainment for  Phoenix Marketing International (PMI).  “The more perks that are provided, the better.”  The trend is for loyalty programs to get “more sophisticated, so they can extend their reach,”   Antonello added.

Both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun players club members indicated a “good level of satisfaction,” with the benefit program currently offered,” Antonello said, reflecting program elements including restaurant dining and shopping discounts, complementary hotel rooms on-site, reserved parking, VIP check-in and special gaming events.  Mohegan Sun, for example, offers three levels of benefits to cub members, Foxwoods offers five.

The data offered in the survey also includes cross-tabulations that indicate to which loyalty programs in other industries the club members at specific casinos belong  – which can provide individual casinos a road map suggesting which perks might be most attractive to their existing customers.  For example, 37 percent of Foxwoods club members are also members of Marriott Rewards, and one-third are members of airline programs, such as Delta, American or JetBlue.  Those aspects of the survey are proprietary, and available to clients of Phoenix.

Antonello said that players club programs are rapidly evolving, and are reminiscent of the hotel loyalty programs of just over a decade ago, when they aggressively began adding new perks to retain customers amidst growing competition.  “Casinos are now looking for partnerships with other entertainment and travel companies as they go after a broader audience. The trend is to go beyond one industry,” he said.  Foxwoods Rewards partners program, for example, now includes discounts at businesses ranging from FTD Florist to Mystic Acquarium and the Connecticut Science Center.

Completed interviews were conducted in December 2013  in proportion to each state’s population and all counties within each state were represented.  Phoenix expects to repeat the survey later in the year.  Additional information is available at casinoscores@phoenixmi.com

Amateur Radio, Invented in Hartford, Will Celebrate 100 Years with National Convention Here

Before smart phones, before the internet, there was Amateur Radio, better known as Ham Radio.  And it began in Hartford – spreading quickly around the world a century ago.  The province of hobbyists and enthusiasts, Ham Radio often became a lifeline when disasters struck and traditional phone lines were rendered inoperable.

Technology has surely changed, but a thriving American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for Amateur Radio, will mark the 100th anniversary of its founding this summer at the Connecticut Convention Center in its birthplace, Hartford.

The organization’s Centennial Convention will be July 17-19, 2014, according to ARRL President Kay Craigi.  The theme will be: Advancing the Art and Science of Radio—Since 1914.  Ham Radio remains a popular hobby and service in which licensed Amateur Radio operators (hams) operate communications equipment.  ARRL has over 162,000 members and employs approximately 100 people, with national headquarters in Newington.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator W. Craig Fugate, call sign KK4INZ, will be the keynote speaker at the ARRL Centennial Banquet on July 18.

It all began in May 1914 when Hiram Percy Maxim (1869-1936), a leading Hartford inventor and industrialist, founded the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), together with Clarence Tuska, secretary of The Radio Club of Hartford.  ARRL headquarters moved to Newington in 1938 and is visited by nearly 2,000 groups and individuals each year. The site is home to The Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station, call sign W1AW. ARRL's mission is based on five pillars: Public Service, Advocacy, Education, Technology, and Membership.

Although Amateur Radio operators get involved for many reasons, officials say, they all have in common a basic knowledge of radio technology and operating principles, and pass an examination for the FCC license to operate on radio frequencies known as the "Amateur Bands." These bands are radio frequencies reserved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for use by ham radio operators.

“The 2014 ARRL Centennial is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, who explained that the convention will include presentations and forums, exhibits, vendors, demonstrations, flea market, activities for youth, and a banquet.

 “We’ve also planned some very special centennial-themed activities,” Inderbitzen added, “including coach bus trips to ARRL headquarters and W1AW—the Hiram P. Maxim Memorial Station in nearby Newington. We want ARRL members to come with all of their experiences from the first one hundred years of Amateur Radio and ARRL, and leave with a shared vision for ARRL’s second century.”

More information about ARRL and Amateur Radio is online at www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio. Details on the centennial convention are available at www.ARRL2014.org.  The organization has also developed a 25 minute documentary about the history of Amateur Radio, which is available on You Tube.  Fans of the ABC Television show “Last Man Standing” may be aware that its main character, “Mike Baxter” — played by Tim Allen — is supposed to be a radio amateur, KAØXTT

Fastest Internet Download Speeds in CT? Killingworth, Storrs & Stonington Lead 26 Towns in Top U.S. 1,000

Killingworth is the Connecticut town that has the fastest internet download speed.  It is one of 26 towns and cities in the state to rank among the top 1,000 communities with the fastest internet speeds in America, according to recently compiled data.  The only other Connecticut towns to rank among the top three hundred nationwide were Storrs, Stonington, East Haddam, and Weston.   Of the state’s cities, only Stamford and Norwalk reached the top thousand fastest download speeds nationwide.

Recent data reflects that although the national average speed is 18.2 Mbps, the highs and lows – or have’s and have-nots – are quite apparent by region, with the Northeast, especially the I-95 corridor, fairing quite well. 

Data from over 5,600 cities and towns represented in Ookla's Net Index, illustrated by Congressional district, shows relative download speeds across the contiguous U.S., from January through July 2013. (Blue means a faster download speed; red means a slower download speed, on the map.)  The disparities are clearly evident between different regions of the country.

The fastest internet speed in Connecticut is in Killingworth, at 30.28, ranking #179 among cities and towns across the country.  Close behind is Storrs (Mansfield) at 30.20, ranking #181.  Rounding out Connecticut’s top 10 communities with the fastest internet download speeds are Stonington (29.09, #262),  East Haddam (29.00, #269), Weston (29.88, #280), Westport (27.36, #454), Greenwich (26.14, #630), and Bloomfield (25.99, #655), Mansfield (25.99, #656) and Guilford (25.92, #664).

Seventeen of the top 25 towns are in New York or New Jersey The fastest single location, with an average download speed of 85.5 Mbps belongs to Ephrata, Wash., a small town of 7,000 that happens to be home to its own fiber optics provider.   Kansas City, Kan., where Google developed a fiber optic network, comes in second, clocking in at 49.9 Mbps. The worst speeds can be found in Northeastern Arizona, where Chinle and Fort Defiance both clock in at less than 1.5 Mbps, according to Gizmodo, which published a report on the data.

The next ten fastest communities include the only cities to earn a spot on the top 1,000, Stamford and Norwalk.  Connecticut’s second ten are: New Canaan (25.88, #672), Redding (25.79, #691), Tolland (25.40, #734), Canton (25.36, #743), Orange (25.00, #786), Avon (24.62, #834), Torrington (24.58, #837), Darien (24.57, #839), Stamford (24.51, #851), and Norwalk (24.49, #854).

Six additional towns were among the top 1,000 nationally.  They are:  Woodstock (24.43, #865), Fairfield (24.43, #866), Mystic (24.34, #879), Milford (24.25, #894), Woodbury (24.21, #900), and Hebron (23.93, #950).  All are well above the national average.

Ookla's data are primarily coming from the site Speedtest.net.  For a complete list of cities and towns by speed click here.  The metropolitan Northeast, Florida, and most of Arizona come in pretty strong.

Reaching the next five hundred (between 1,000 and 1,500) from Connecticut were Winsted, Coventry, Bridgeport, Monroe, Groton, Southbury, Pawcatuck, Litchfield, Woodbridge, Watertown, Danbury, Brookfield, Newtown, Shelton, Stratford, Deep River and Gales Ferry, at number 1,477.  There were 43 Connecticut towns and cities  among the top 1,500 nationwide.