New reaching the casino industry are that that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) is not yet ready to issue the license required to build a state of the art integrated casino resort in the southeastern part of the state.
However, the plan is still there and only that the authorities need to do more due diligence before committing to the suggestion. In fact, during a meeting on Thursday, officials of the commission directed its staff to conduct a research on how suitable it would be to build a casino in that part of the state.
Information is to be gathered from experts in the gaming industry as well as from the public. He draft will later be presented to the public on a meeting on the 9th of January come next year. The proposed casino, is to be built in Region C which comprises of the following counties; Bristol, Plymouth, Dukes, Barnstable and Nantucket.
In 2011, a new gaming act was passed which allowed the building of three integrated casinos with a minimum worth of $500 million, in three different regions of the state. The act also allowed the building of a slots only venue with an investment of not less than $125 million.
To this effect, Plainridge Park was the first slots only venue to be opened in Massachusetts. Later on, a $960 million integrated venue by MGM was opened in Springfield (Region B). The $2.6 billion integrated casino by Encore was third to be opened in Boston Harbor (Region A).
However, there has been delay in opening the third integrated casino in Region C. The delay with issuing of the license is because of a legal challenge by the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, which claims it has the rights to build a Native American casino resort worth $1 billion in Taunton. Furthermore, the state claims that if the $1 billion project is approved, it would cause the region to be oversaturated with gambling.
Odds are that the tribe will soon a go ahead by the state, which has caused the MGC to reconsider issuing the license. However, speculations are that the license could have its own restrictions, which according to some source may not favor everyone in the market.
Rush Street Gaming, a Chicago-based gaming company has brought forth its proposal to build a $677 million venue at the Brockton Fairgrounds. The company was the only bidder in 2015, but its proposal was turned down due to the tribe’s legal challenge.
Recently, in a letter to MGC, Rush attorneys stated that the company is still interested in building the casino in Brockton. However, the lack of urgency by the commission towards the matter is frustrating the company, which might ultimately consider to pull out. Brockton Mayor agreed with the letter saying that with the delay the licensing is facing, it might be possible that Region C might ultimately not enjoy the benefits that come with an integrated gaming venue.
Source: https://www.casino.org/news/massachusetts-gaming-commission-moves-forward-casino/
