Anniversary of casino bill important for state and region

Dec. 1, 2021 | G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com

So do you know what is the significance for the date Nov. 22, 2011?  I don’t blame you if you don’t. I didn’t recall until the State House News Service sent us a story to remind us.

On that day, Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law the legislation that made casino gaming legal and possible in the Bay State.

I think it’s safe to say that bill changed much in Massachusetts.

The story brought back to me a flood of memories. This has been a very long road. The bill was signed in November 2011. It took also most seven years for the first full-service casino – MGM Springfield – to open.

That road to the August 2018 opening celebration was a very long and twisted one.

The casino story didn’t start in 2011. There were years of debate in Massachusetts, especially after the opening of Foxwoods and later Mohegan Sun, about whether or not Massachusetts should enter the field.

In the 1995 mayoral election in Springfield there was an effort to see a non-binding referendum pass that would have shown support for casino gaming. The question was not approved.

It would take years for state leaders to understand there was a considerable amount of Massachusetts money that was flooding across the border. It always amazed me that a state with an extremely successful lottery program would be so resistant to another form of gambling.

Springfield became a choice for a site for a casino but at first only a small company called Ameristar showed interest. They were so confident that they would be ones to achieve a license they bought the former Westinghouse complex and prepared it for construction.

MGM looked at a site abutting the turnpike in Brimfield but turned their attention elsewhere when they company realized the state was not going to build a new turnpike exit for their development.

More than one company looked at Wyckoff Country Club in Holyoke, but that ultimately didn’t pan out.

Casinos were discussed for Chicopee’s downtown. Palmer had an active effort to bring a casino to that community. Holyoke was dismissed, and then brought up by Mayor Alex Morse, who was then promptly spanked by many of his supporters and dismissed it again. The Big E entered the fray with a proposal for a casino in their parking fields.

In Springfield three other companies showed interest: MGM, Penn National and Hard Rock. There was quite a public battle between Penn and MGM for the hearts and minds of Springfield once Hard Rock walked away from its negotiations to buy Tower Square.

Businessman Herbie Flores, the management of The Republican and Peter Picknelly, supported Penn, which appeared to have the inside track for Mayor Domenic Sarno’s approval for a while.

Ultimately, MGM emerged the victor here. There was still much resistance against casino gaming that resulted in a statewide referendum question. That question slowed down the effort to move forward. People in Massachusetts supporting casinos won the day.

Looking back was it the right decision? I think so. I hope the folks at MGM who accused me of “hating” them will take note of that.

(By the way, despite the accusation, I never hated MGM. As a newspaper guy I maintained a level of skepticism about certain claims.)

I think the claims of increases in crime were greatly exaggerated, as were many of the predictions of profit and economic impact on other businesses.

The casino has brought in tax dollars and created jobs and for that I think it has been a success.

I still don’t gamble there – it’s not my thing – but I have thought the story of how casinos gaming came to be would make for a fascinating book with plenty of intrigue, plenty of characters and lots of drama.

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