Gaming Commission Takes Important Step On Southeastern Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has taken a small but vital step that could see the arrival of a fourth casino in the state.
The body has sent its staff on a fact-finding mission. It has instructed staffs to garner information from experts and the general public concerning the feasibility of a fourth Casino in the area. The regulatory body wants to find out if the current market can support a full-service gambling facility, and if the decision would be of short, and long term benefit to the state.
All is going to plan as the state has a potential suitor. Mass Gaming and Entertainment is hoping to get a gaming license in the state, and the group is putting pressure on the commission to hasten its decision. The group proposed a $677 million casino in 2016, which was quickly rejected. It is hoping this time around the outcome would be different.
“We ask that whatever else you do … you recognize that the ongoing delay comes at a tremendous human and financial cost,” the company’s attorneys said. “We ask that you move the process forward quickly.”
Slow And Steady
The commission is no hurry to make a decision, and it is taking its time to come to a conclusion. State law legalized casino gambling in 2011 and immediately approved three full-service casinos. The casinos were spread across Western, Eastern, and Southeastern Massachusetts.
Of the three full-service casinos, the Southeastern Massachusetts casino is the only one not in operations. The fact that existing casinos in Plainville, Everett, and Springfield are seeing low revenues, is making regulators take a much cautious approach before awarding another license.
“It’s much easier to make the first licensing decision than it is to make the fourth one,” Gaming Commission member Enrique Zuniga said. “We should be very aware of the performance of the current existing licensees — the responses of the states around us.”
