Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
On Sept. 16, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission awarded the casino gaming license for Region A (greater Boston) to Wynn Resorts for its $1.6 billion proposal in Everett, deeming it superior to a Mohegan Sun proposal for Revere by a 3-1 vote.
The two proposals were evaluated on criteria including financing, mitigation, economic development, and building/site design, all of which factored into comparative overview evaluations of each project.
The Wynn proposal received an overall rating of very good/outstanding, while the Mohegan Sun proposal received an overall rating of very good.
The commission deliberated in public for five days over two weeks. Extensive background information on the evaluation and licensing process may be found at www.massgaming.com.
According to the developer, the Everett casino, which will reuse a vacant site on the Mystic River, is expected to generate $267 million per year in state and local tax revenue.
Earlier this year, the Gaming Commission awarded the Region B license (western Massachusetts) to MGM Springfield. MGM was the only applicant in the region to receive support from the host municipality and to pass the commission’s Phase 1 background check.
Preliminary applications for the casino gaming license for Region C (southeastern Massachusetts) are due to the commission on Dec. 1, and final applications are due next March 27. A licensing decision is expected in August 2015.
The commission has initiated a parallel commercial licensing process in Region C in case the development of a tribal casino is unable to meet federal or other requirements to proceed.
The commission awarded the state’s sole slot parlor license to a Penn National Gaming project in Plainville, which is now under construction.
A voter referendum to repeal the law that allows casino gaming in Massachusetts will appear on the November ballot as Question 3.
The law calls for the state to receive 25 percent of gaming revenues from up to three resort casinos and 40 percent of revenues from the single slots parlor, which together have been estimated at between $300 million and $500 million per year.