It is becoming harder for casinos these days in the increasingly saturated New England market and that is evident from the recent struggles of MGM Springfield and the proposed East Windsor Casino.
Despite launching just 16 months ago, MGM Springfield is experiencing a sharp decline in their revenue. This has persuaded the casino to lobby state politicians to allow for sports gambling in Massachusetts, expecting that this will considerably increase profits.
This is also having an impact on the tribal-owned facility proposed in East Windsor, Connecticut. It was anticipated that the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, which runs the Foxwoods Resort-Casino would invest somewhere between $200 million and $300 million constructing the facility. However, according to the chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Rodney Butler, that seems to be on hold.
During the Massachusetts legislatures’ safety committee, he recently explained, “We’ve refined it a little bit based on the data that we have. We now know more about the market. “There’s been a lot of concern expressed over the past few years regarding the saturation of the market.”
As reported by calvinayre.com, the worries come at a stage when both the Connecticut and Massachusetts state administrations are thinking about expanding gambling within the state. The University of Massacusetts (Umass) is currently studying the impact on casinos within the state, and what allowing an additional casino operation would mean.
There is a proposal in Connecticut, to expand gambling outside of its two tribal-run casinos. This would involve permitting online sports betting, iKeno, and a new facility at Bridgeport.
These proposals for growth are being encouraged by the number of casinos which are available in adjacent states such as Rhode Island and New York. These facilities are alluring customers from the two states, and both Connecticut and Massachusetts are keen to create more options which will keep money within their state.
However, current facilities are failing to meet the expected revenues. The $960 million MGM Springfield, situated in the downtown area, has strived to meet “expectations.” As said by Jim Murren, ex Chief Executive Officer Jim during a recent conference call with industry analysts.
Also there is worry that the two casinos in Connecticut are affecting MGM Springfield. Ex MGM President Mike Mathis agreed that the tribal facilities were greatly affecting the amount of revenue that the Springfield casino was generating.
