The first of four planned Massachusetts casinos authorized by the gaming expansion bill of 2011 were envisioned as “destination resort casinos,” intended to produce economic development in many other industries, not just gaming.
This approach was a new one, and is considered unique to the Bay State. In the past casino developments, have not created collateral economic benefits in other industries, although they usually generate taxes and jobs.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) remains committed to this strategy, something that it reiterated at a recent meeting that it held in Springfield, where the MGM Springfield is rising with a fall 2018 opening planned.
The city’s officials told the commission that it has seen a 16.4 percent increase in investments in economic development in the last two years. The city’s Mayor Domenic Sarno and Chief Development Officer Kevin Kennedy pressured MGM to support, not only a casino, but a four-star hotel, restaurants, retail, a cinema, bowling alley and ice skating rink, plus 54 residences, as part of the development. This mixed-use casino development is something new. It is also leading the way for the downtown of Springfield (the South End) to recover from the devastating 2011 tornado that ripped through it. The center’s recovery is nicknamed “Springfield Rising.”
This includes developments that might not have happened without the casino, such as the renovation of Union Station, but also a new “innovation center” a cultural district and the Holyoke Community College’s Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts.
The $2.1 billion Wynn Boston Harbor, which really only got its first wind last summer after surviving a multitude of legal battles, appears to be having a similar effect on the town of Everett.
Because the casino is much larger in scale, and Everett is considerably smaller than Springfield, the effects may be even more dramatic. The Wynn project is considered to be the largest private development in the history of the Bay State.
Mayor Carlo DeMaria recently told the MGC, “As we all know, the Wynn Resort is at the center of Everett’s environmental and economic revitalization. Everett was recently named one of the top 10 places to live in the Commonwealth. Our commercial and residential property values are on the rise, and our waterfront is being restored as a wonderful natural resource and recreational asset for our residents. With a new harbor walk, we realize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open a waterfront that’s been fenced off for more than a century and then invite all our residents and neighbors and guests to enjoy it for generations to come.”
Plainridge Park
The first casino operating in the Bay State, Plainridge Park slots parlor, in December saw a 3.5 percent jump in revenues from the previous month, and a 12 percent increase over the same month a year ago.
The casino, which is operated by Penn National Gaming, took in $12,638,807 in December, paying $6.19 million (or 49 percent) to the state. It opened in June 2015 and took in $18.1 million for that month. Revenues dropped to $11.3 million in December 2015 but bounced to around $13 million a month last summer.
Plainridge’s main competition comes from the Twin River Casino that operates 11 miles away in Rhode Island. The casino has failed to live up to revenue expectations, which were projected to be $106 million a year, and then lowered to $83 million.
Daily Fantasy Sports
Martha Coakley, who retired as the state’s attorney general in January 2015, is now representing daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings. She was scheduled to tell the Special Commission on Online Gaming, Fantasy Sports Gaming and Daily Fantasy Sports that the company has created more than 100 jobs in the state. DraftKings has over 300 employees in Massachusetts.
The ad hoc commission was created by the legislature to recommend an omnibus bill this summer that would take in all of the possible online games—except the lottery.
