Casinos in Massachusetts: Where will the chips fall?

In November 2011, legislation was passed allowing the building of casinos in Massachusetts.  There are three licenses available in three regions of the state. Three major players, Mohegan Sun, WynnResorts, and MGM Resorts International remain in the running for these opportunities.  The three operators submitted their applications by year-end and quite frankly, we’re glad we aren’t responsible for reviewing them.  MGM’s application contained more than 7,000 pages while Mohegan’s consisted of 16,034 pages, and Wynn’s more than 18,000 pages!

There has been much controversy over casinos coming to Massachusetts. And, throughout the year, the casinos have been working hard to influence public opinion. They have been conducting meetings to share information with community members about the positive impacts that the casinos can have on the areas in which they are located.

One such benefit is improvements to already-congested roads and highways, which would be redesigned to accommodate the additional traffic.  Additionally, casinos offer many other entertainment opportunities such as concerts, shows, and other nightlife. Proponents also argue that many jobs will be created and local economies strengthened as new opportunities arise for businesses to support the casino and the community.

Whether you’re a resident of a community with a proposed casino site, a vendor looking to cash in on casino-related opportunities, or just looking forward to new entertainment options in Massachusetts, these are exciting times and it’s still unclear as to where the chips will fall.

[Mass Gaming] [WSJ]

Happy Holidays!

GAP Promotions would like to wish you and your family a happy holiday season and a fantastic New Year! Since we're all about the holiday spirit, below are some drink recipes you can try over the holidays featuring some of our favorite spirits. Enjoy and please remember to always drink responsibly.

Baileys Minty Mistletoe

2 oz. Baileys® Original Irish Cream Liqueur
0.25 oz. Rumple Minze® Peppermint Schnapps

• Add Baileys Original Irish Cream and Rumple Minze.

• Shake with ice and strain into martini glass.

Hot Gin Toddy

1.25 oz. Tanqueray® London Dry Gin

0.75 oz. Fresh lemon juice

0.75 Ginger syrup

3 dashes Orange bitters

1.5 oz. Hot water

• Mix ingredients in a tall, clear glass coffee mug.

• Stir.

• Top with hot water.

• Garnish with fresh grated cinnamon.

The Harvest

1 oz. Captain Morgan® Original Spiced Rum

1 oz. Cranberry juice

0.25 oz. Fresh lime juice

4 oz. Cola

1 Lime wedge

• In an ice filled Collins or rocks glass, combine all the ingredients.

• Stir to blend.

• Garnish with a lime wedge.

[thebar.com]

Team GAP ProMO: Supporting Men's Health This Movember

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT TEAM GAP PROMO

In the month of October, we put together a program that supported the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. It was our way of promoting breast cancer awareness within our company, and hopefully for our customers as well.

This month, GAP hopes to “change the face of Men’s Health”. Taken straight from the Movember website, that vision encompasses overall men’s health, as well as prostate and testicular cancer.

Several GAP team members are setting aside their razors to help raise awareness and receive donations in support of programs put forth by The Movember Foundation, Prostate Cancer Foundation, and the Livestrong Foundation.

That’s right…we’re going to adorn our upper lips with the fanciest of moustaches (or ‘MO’s) to support the cause!

At GAP, we love a healthy challenge, and we are participating with other agencies at Movember.com. So, if you’re in a giving mood, or would like to find out more information to support our cause, you can also go directly to our team page at http://moteam.co/gap-promo

If you’re as enthusiastic about Movember as we are, check out what Foster’s is doing for the entire month. As an official partner with the Movember Foundation, Foster’s is promoting the cause with limited addition Oil Cans. Collect all 3!

Make sure to keep checking our team page and GAP's Twitter and Facebook for updates!

Think Pink! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

This month, ‘pink’ is everywhere. It’s on coffee cups, t-shirts, bumper stickers, our favorite NFL player’s jersey; even the White House is pink! National Breast Cancer Awareness Month takes place every October to increase awareness of the disease and the importance of early detection.

In 1985, the American Cancer Society and the pharmaceutical division of Imperial Chemical Industries launched National Breast Cancer Awareness month to promote mammography as the most effective weapon in the fight against breast cancer.  The Pink Ribbons, we so often see now, came about in the fall of 1991, when the Susan G. Komen Foundation handed out medals with pink ribbons during a race for breast cancer survivors. In 1993, Evelyn Lauder of the Estee Lauder Companies founded the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and established the Pink Ribbon as its official symbol.

The National Cancer Institute estimated that roughly 1 in 8 women will develop Breast Cancer in their lifetime; most of us know someone who has been affected by this disease.  In 2011, there were more than 2.6 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. We are happy to have an opportunity to support this important cause.

This October, GAP Promotions, along with many other organizations will be promoting Breast Cancer Awareness.  GAP is offering a wide array of promotional products, as seen below, including pink t-shirts, pink sunglasses, travel cups, and other items to help “Pink” your brand and help spread awareness.  Ten percent of all proceeds from our October Pink Initiative will be donated to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Contact Erin Murray to order or call 978.281.0083.

Pink Sunglasses

Double Wall Tumbler

Pink Ribbon Shirt

[BreastCancer.org] [Susan G. Komen] [National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.]

Whiskey 101

Whiskey lovers are a passionate group of people. They take their whiskeys very seriously and truly enjoy everything that goes into crafting their favorites. Whiskey lovers also like to talk about whiskey, including what distinguishes whiskey from whisky, Bourbon from whiskey, Scotch from Bourbon, and so on. This may be daunting to some, so we’ve summarized some of the basic differences among the most popular styles of whiskey, and identified a few of our favorites.

First, “whiskey” (with an “e”) and “whisky” are the same in terms of product.  Some argue that the difference in spelling is a regional attribute, while others assert that the spelling reflects the type of whisk(e)y in question. In most cases, whiskeys from Ireland and the United States have the “e,” while elsewhere in the world the “e” is omitted.  But, like everything else, there are exceptions to the rule.

Bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is Bourbon. To be qualified as Bourbon, a set of legal standards must be met, the most important of which requires that the product be manufactured in the United States. Also, Bourbon must be manufactured with at least 51% corn in the grain during distillation.

Scotch is the shortened term for Scotch whisky. Like Bourbon, Scotch is defined by a set of legal standards. The most important (and perhaps most obvious) standard is that it has to be manufactured and distilled in Scotland.

The different types of whiskey do not end there. Corn, malt, rye, and wheat whiskeys all have distinct flavors based on which ingredient is most prominent. Single malt whiskey is produced at a single distillery and the flavor may differ across all batches. Blended whiskey is a combination batch from different distilleries, which keeps the flavor more consistent.

GAP Promotions is proud to provide innovative marketing solutions to some of the most well-known whiskey brands, including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bushmills, and 

Evan Williams. Pictured below is a display for one of our favorite whiskeys; a wooden rack that GAP produced for Bulleit Bourbon. The rack stands slightly over five feet, and features a rustic, wooden construction to display Bulleit’s rich frontier history.

[http://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/]   [straightbourbon.com/]   [http://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_malt_whisky]