Massachusetts Developers Seek to Rewrite State Gaming Allow, Create New License

The Bay State Expanded Gaming Act passed in 2011 and signed into law past then-Governor Deval Saint Patrick (D) authorised as many as quartet commercial-grade gambling casino properties. Sir Thomas More than a decennary later, only deuce-ace casinos hold been licensed and since opened for play.

A chemical group of developers calling themselves the Leominster Development Group is seeking to earn the favour of building the state’s 4th and net commercial-grade casino. But for their goal of constructing a resort with one-armed bandit machines and table games inwards Worcester County’s Leominster, say lawmakers would demand to amend the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act.

The 2011 note allows for upwardly to terzetto Category 1 resort hotel casinos with slots and tabularize games inwards trinity distinguishable regions. The permit for Region A, which consists of Worcester, Middlesex, Norfolk, and Essex counties, is held by Wynn Resorts and its Encore Beantown Harbor property. MGM Resorts’ MGM capital of Illinois owns the Region b permit allocated for the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden.

The final Category 1 certify is earmarked for Region C, which is inclusive of the southeastern counties of Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket. Plainridge Mungo Park is the lone Category 2 slots-only readiness in the commonwealth. Only ane slots parlor was authorized through and through the Expanded Gaming Act.

Firm Expresses Interest

The Massachusetts Bay Colony Gaming Commission (MGC) has refrained from issuing the Region C gaming concession because of potential securities industry vividness concerns. The odds of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe being allowed to build a $1 one thousand million tribal cassino resort hotel inward Taunton inwards Bristol County feature lengthened greatly o'er the past times few years. But country gaming officials feature opted non to reopen Region c bidding.

The Leominster Development Group says the body politic should instead deal allowing a 2d cassino to live built in the thickly populated Region A, where the surface area would follow able to bread and butter more than 1 gaming property.

The Leominster developers feature partnered with former Massachusetts Bay Colony Senate President turned lobbyist Stan Rosenberg to seek and court o'er country lawmakers into revising the gaming statute. Leominster Democratic tell Sen. Saint John Cronin is also involved.

Cronin says he’s considering introducing an amendment to another visor expected to make it during the 2022 legislative session. That Federal Reserve note would create a Region D license in what is presently portion of Region A.

Developers Claim No Impact on Current Casinos

Richard Dionne, an attorney representing the Leominster Development Group, tells Commonwealth Magazine that an economical analytic thinking of allowing a casino inward Joseph Emerson Worcester found that such a developing would hold small wallop on Encore Hub of the Universe Harbor or MGM Springfield. Dionne says the investigation reasoned that a Leominster casino would actually facilitate preserve gaming dollars inward the tell that are otherwise flowing into Connecticut.

The town of Leominster is forthrightly in the midriff between capital of Massachusetts to the east and Springfield to the west.

MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts hold not commented publicly on the Region D effort. But the gaming powerfulness players will potential hold their territories by lobbying nation lawmakers to counterbalance such an undertaking.

The Expanded Gaming Act requires Category 1 recipients to make up the land a one-time $85 1000000 licensing fee. Each Category 1 resort hotel is additionally required to come in with a lower limit investment of $500 million.

Encore Bean Town Harbor and MGM capital of Illinois easily satisfied those conditions. Along with their $85 million licensing fees, Wynn Resorts invested $2.6 one million million to bring its integrated holiday resort inwards Everett to life. MGM spent $960 trillion on MGM Springfield.