Springfield, Massachusetts Mayor Domenic J. Sarno last week issued an executive order ordering the region’s Casino Advisory Committee conduct its first meeting by September 30—more than a year late.
The committee was supposed to have convened in August 2018, when MGM Springfield first opened. Quarterly meetings were then required under the city’s 2013 host community agreement with the $960 million MGM casino.
In a news release, Sarno stated, “The Advisory Committee will help make sure that both MGM Springfield and the City of Springfield are successful through the promotion of economic development initiatives involving travel, tourism, business development and job creation.”
In June and then again in August, Johnny Ray McKnight, a member of the 11-person committee, complained to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that the body had never met, according to Masslive.com. Other members of the committee were appointed by Sarno, the Springfield city council, MGM Springfield and the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce.
In his complaint, McKnight suggested that the gaming commission fine the city and MGM Springfield.
Instead, Sarno took the lead, saying he was doing so “by authority vested in me as Mayor of the City of Springfield.”
Meanwhile, MGM will celebrate its first year of operations in Springfield on Saturday, August 24. The event will include appearances by the New England Patriots Cheerleaders, and Mayor Sarno and MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis will lead a “Happy Birthday” sing-a-long before blowing out the candles on a five-tier birthday cake. MGM Springfield will also host Aerosmith in concert at the nearby MassMutual Center.
