It's an interesting article ( I tried to post it last night but I couldn't get the link to work ). A few things struck me, beyond the completely obvious, one being that they don't mention specifically one of the problems. Stronach paid way too much for all these properties, which is specifically why they were pretty much immediately worth less than he paid for them, and of course one of the big reasons Magna Entertainment got in financial trouble. $130 Million for the two Maryland racing properties? If memory serves me right the general consensus had them worth $30 to, maybe, $40 million at the time of purchase. The other point the article brings up a few times is that, supposedly, Stronach didn't have anyone to tell him that some of his ideas, big ideas, were wrong. I'm not sure that's the way many would put it. I think he had people who told him those things.....but he fired them.
He has done some good things in Maryland. The new racing surfaces at Laurel are great. The dining rooms at both Laurel and Pimlico have been upgraded substantially. The bar area on the third floor at Laurel, by the dining room, is great. Unfortunately, the bizarre choices in South Florida have overshadowed that dramatically. While building a smaller plant is, in and of itself, a good idea, what was eventually created is a disasterous maze of confusion and confinement.
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01-14-2008, 11:20 AM
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