Voters in New Bedford June 23 will decide the fate of the 0 million casino resort proposed for the waterfront of the historic whaling town by KG Urban.
Jobs creation is the main talking point of supporters, who cite more than 2,000 construction jobs and more than 3,800 permanent, positions that could be created if the casino opens.
A local community college plans to offer several classes in dealing cards if the casino is approved, including non-credit courses for those who just want to learn how to deal.
The casino is proposed on a 43-acre site that was formerly a power plant.
Anthony R. Sapienza, chairman of the business and development committee for the Greater New Bedford Workforce Investment Board estimates that a successful casino could attract new residents, who would bring family members who might work elsewhere, thus bootstrapping the local economy.
He told South Coast Today, “I think rising tides lift all ships. Economic growth gets economic growth.”
The region has an unemployment rate of nearly 6 percent, somewhat higher than the state average. The city itself has a rate of 7.4 percent unemployed.
According to New England gaming expert Clyde Barrow, “In many respects, casinos gravitate toward areas like New Bedford, because the workforce fits the profile of their staffing quite nicely.”
Recently Lynn Collins Cunningham, senior vice president of Bethlehem Initiatives for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce in Pennsylvania told New Bedford residents about a casino that KG Urban opened in Bethlehem. “They employ 2,500 people at the casino, and they pride themselves on most of the employees being able to support a family on what they make,” Cunningham said. “All around, it’s been a positive.”
Although New Bedford voters have consistently favored a casino in their town in elections over the years, there is opposition.
At a recent town meeting on the subject one skeptical resident declared, “The people of this peninsula aren’t going to want to spend another 20 minutes getting to the North End.”
Andy Stern, one of the principals of the casino, responded, “There is no morning rush hour at a casino,” adding that casino traffic is spread around the clock.
New Bedford’s competition for the license is Brockton, where Mass Gaming & Entertainment proposes a $670 million casino resort. Voters approved of it on May 12.
Stern noted that the project would be a “waterfront redevelopment project with a casino.”
Another attendee was uncomfortable with several options being offered for the casino. “It makes me a little bit nervous when you present several different layout plans — it’s like we have to decide on something, but we have no idea what it’s going to look like in the end,” the man said. “Right now, it looks like it could be anything.”
The New Bedford project had been under the gun to provide the gaming commission information on its financial partner, something that it was able to do within the final deadline.
The project’s partner is Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. KG provided the commission with a signed “term sheet” of the agreement.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts’ first casino, Plainridge Park Casino, its single slots parlor, will open on June 24 in Plainville. The $250 million facility will have 1,222 slot machines on 90 acres.
Wynn Everett
Despite whirling lawsuits that threaten to delay work beginning on the $1.6 billion Wynn Everett casino resort, Wynn Resorts has opened an office in Medford, two miles from the site.
The office will eventually have about 50 employees who will oversee development, construction and operation of the 600-room hotel, which is planned along the Mystic River on a former chemical manufacturing site. It is across the river from the city of Boston, which is suing to stop it.
MGM Springfield
Preliminary site work continues on the 14.5 acre site of the $800 million MGM Springfield, while MGM awaits the go ahead to begin demolition of old buildings that will be making way for the South End casino.
The site work includes such things as hazardous materials removal in buildings slated for demolition, plus utility work. Some buildings, such as the State Armory, will be partially demolished while preserving some architectural elements.
Final resolution of the fate of some historical buildings awaits a review by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and ultimately the gaming commission itself. A total of 19 buildings will be demolished.
It remains to be seen whether any of these delays will push back the announced plans to open for business in late 2017.
The developer is working to provide parking for commuters who will be impacted by the construction. According to a spokesman for MGM: “From day one, MGM Springfield has tried to integrate itself with the South End neighborhood to help revitalize downtown Springfield and beyond,” adding, “The new parking arrangement will keep commuters close to work, where they will be able to continue to patronize existing downtown businesses and help new ventures flourish.”
Ethics Inquiry
Chairman Crosby is under investigation by the state ethics board after a complaint was filed over an alleged conflict of interest that last year caused him to recuse himself from any involvement in the decision to award a license to Wynn.
Crosby withdrew from deliberations after it became known that he had a previous business relationship with a part owner of land that Wynn later purchased for the casino.
According to a report by the Boston Globe the ethics commission has been given a sworn statement relating to the case.
