Plainridge Park Casino, which is currently limited by statute to 1,250 slots, is asking the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to loosen that limitation.
Plainridge is the first of the four casinos that were authorized by the 2011 gaming expansion legislation. It is limited to slots only, unlike the recently opened MGM Springfield, and soon-to-open Encore Boston Harbor, which are authorized to be full-fledged Las Vegas style casino resorts.
Plainridge argues that it needs more maneuvering room to compete with Rhode Island’s Las Vegas style casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton. Back in 2011 the argument for limiting the one “slots parlor” was the fear of saturating the market. But so far only three casinos have been licensed in the Bay State and Rhode Island’s expansions have been game changers for the regional market.
Clyde Barrow of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, a recognized expert on the New England gaming market, last week told the Boston Globe, “The easiest solution is to grow the facility that is already built.”
The Plainridge opened in June 2015 and has so far paid almost $300 million in state taxes. Taxes it paid to host city Plainville helped finance a new town hall and public safety complex. Leaders of that city and nearby towns recently wrote to the commission asking to authorize an expansion. One letter said the restrictions have put jobs at risk and impacted city revenues.
Plainville Board of Selectmen Chairman Matthew Kavanah added that since the casino has opened “It is not hyperbole to call it game-changing for our region.”
MGM Springfield
The $960 million MGM Springfield, which opened August 24, issued its first quarterly report by announcing that it had met and exceeded its goals of hiring local and hiring diverse in both its operations and construction.
MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis and other executives presented the report to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission last week. The casino had a goal of hiring 35 percent from the city of Springfield. It actually hired 38.4 percent.
This led Mathis to comment “The fact that we’re exceeding that goal with Springfield residents and they’re performing so well in the resort environment I think has been a validation, and hopefully our competitors and others in the industry will try to do the same and give back to the host community that you are in.”
The casino had a goal of hiring 50 percent minorities, and actually hired 57.2 percent, he said. The hiring goal of women was 46 percent, compared to the goal of 50 percent and the hiring of veterans was 6.2 percent, compared to the goal of 2 percent.
Commission Chairman Gayle Cameron congratulated the company. “I do view them as strong numbers,” she said. “They are meeting their commitments to the city, to the region, to the commonwealth. I think that was a positive report as it has been through the construction phase and now in the permanent hiring of staff.”
In the realm of construction and design, the goal had been to give 10 percent to women-owned businesses. The actual figure was 20.9 percent. The goal had been 5 percent for minority-owned businesses and the achieved number was 7.8 percent. MGM hired 6.5 percent from veteran-owned businesses, much higher than the 2 percent goal.
The Commission also praised MGM for actions it took to discourage underage patrons from visiting the gaming floor during its first months of operation. One of those changes was to discourage families from crossing the gaming floor. This change came about cooperatively between MGM and Commission’s Executive Director Edward R. Bedrosian. Now they are required to stay on the perimeter of the gaming floor, avoiding providing a “temptation” to minors.
Mathis said the company has “zero tolerance” for minors in the gaming areas, which are monitored closely by personnel in person and by video. The resort offers many amenities for families including a cinema and outdoor plaza, he said.
The casino did well bottom line in its first six weeks, attracting one million visitors.
In more recent figures the casino generated $21 million in December, compared to $22 million in October and $27 million in September.
The commission heard that there were no major issues that arose in the plaza itself, where alcohol consumption is permitted.
The commission said it will discuss the possibility of licensing the fourth and last casino in the southeastern part of the state.
Encore Boston Harbor
Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez last week in Nevada was set to hearing arguments this week about whether she should continue blocking a report on Wynn Resorts that includes information former Wynn CEO and founder Steve Wynn claims is privileged information between him and his attorneys.
The information is part of a report that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission must see in order to render a judgment on the continued suitability of Wynn Resorts to the license to operate the $2.4 billion Encore Boston Harbor, which is scheduled to open in June.
Without the report on the accusations of sexual impropriety, including that of attempted sexual assault, and especially whether the company knew about them and took action to hide them from the MGC when it was judging the company’s suitability for a license in the Boston metro area, the commission cannot make a fair judgment.
Wynn, who continues to maintain his innocence of all such accusations, argues through his lawyers that the report contains confidential information between himself and company attorneys that are privileged.
Accusations about Wynn became public about a year ago in an expose printed in the Wall Street Journal. By February he had resigned, been replaced as CEO and president and divested himself of all financial interest in the company he founded.
Under extreme pressure, Wynn Resorts removed his name from the casino in Everett, giving it its current name: Encore Boston Harbor.
