Gambling rejection 5th for St. Croix firm

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By Matthew Cella

CORRECTION: The article incorrectly reported that John K. Baldwin was denied a racing license in New York. Mr. Baldwin was not denied a license. The article also incorrectly reported that Shawn A. Scott was denied a racing license in Maine. Mr. Scott was denied a racing license in New York, not in Maine.

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The failed effort to put a $500 million gambling hall in Northeast was the latest setback for an offshore firm whose associates have been unsuccessfully pushing gambling ventures nationwide in the past year.

The D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics ruled Thursday that backers of an initiative supporting the proposed casino had legally collected only 14,587 of the 17,599 signatures needed to put the issue on the Nov. 2 ballot.

John Ray, a former D.C. Council member who is serving as the attorney for the Citizens Committee for the Video Lottery Terminal Initiative, yesterday filed a petition for review in the D.C. Court of Appeals, but it is considered unlikely that the court would overturn the board's decision.

If the board's decision stands, it would be the fifth gambling-related rejection in a year for associates of the St. Croix-based venture capital firm, Bridge Capital LLC.

Shawn A. Scott, the man who originally proposed the casino in the District, lost a bid in November to build a racetrack and casino in Hobbs, N.M.

Mr. Scott is the chief operating officer at Bridge Capital, which employs as its chief financial officer Robert L. Newell, the financier of the D.C. effort. Mr. Scott has a history of involvement in gambling ventures, often in partnership with Mr. Newell's boss at Bridge Capital, John K. Baldwin and Mr. Newell's brother, Michael Newell.

Mr. Scott's New Mexico bid, one of four considered by the state, stood out among the competitors because it contained unique features such as a water park, an eight-screen movie theater, retail shops, a recreational vehicle park and basketball courts.

In the District, Mr. Newell's plan called for movie theaters, a bowling alley and a children's recreation center.