Massachusetts Gaming

[DaBurglar]

Has anyone been keeping up with the whole saga of gambling in MAssachusetts (the state of my primary residence)?It is such a convoluted and crazy situation, "Saga" is a very apt description.Currently there are 3 licenses issued, one to MGM, one to Wynn and one to Penn National.MGM i sset to build a 800 million dollar facility in Springfield, Wynn is set to build a 1.6 Billion dollar resort in Everett, and Penn is set to build something incorporating the Suffolk "racino" (I think....that project is still kinda vague.)In 2011 Mass  voters approved casino gaming and things went ahead....but now a very large ANTI-casino group has managed to get a ballot referendum in November to REPEAL the gaming law passed in 2011.   Latest polls show the issue VERY close indeed, with the PRO casino forces holding a slim lead (5-6%) but well within margins of error......I am completely NEUTRAL on the topic, seeing the wisdom and points and drawbacks of BOTH positions.   I truly have no preference whatsoever if Mass ever gets casino gambling or not.

[Tedlark]

  I have been following it quite closely, so for those MA voters who will pull a lever one way or the other; every vote will count.

[yankees4ever31]

MA gaming is a go! - Boston Herald

Good news for me. I love the WYNN properties

WYNN Everett

-yankees4ever31

[djc32]

As someone who lives in Northern New England, I am also excited by the news! But I cant imagine Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun will be.

[Gammy]

I also live in northern New England and travel quite often  to CT. We'll see if Wynn can make a go of it.Dealing with Massachusetts' politicians is gruesome. Harrah's found that out when made they made a bid. I think the MA committee made a mistake by picking Everett as the location. Suffolk  Downs was the better location. It is easier to get to from all directions, including the airport.

[djc32]

I agree with you about Suffolk Downs, and dealing with MA politicians.
I just hope both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are prepared if and when Wynn and the 2 other locations in MA do actually make a go of it. They both better give people in Boston, Springfield and the surrounding areas a good reason to make the drive down there.

[olds442jetaway]

Getting to the Boston/Everett area can be a real nightmare with traffic. Both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have a large group of patrons who travel from Ma to play in Ct. Some of them I have spoken to say they will not fight that Boston area traffic and instead continue to go to Ct. if the deal is right. Personally, I think the most damage could have been done to Ct casinos if a Ma casino were built in Worcester, Ma. It is on a direct route pretty much to the Ct. casinos and only an hour from Boston, so many Boston people would probably travel there. Worcester has been having some reconstruction in recent years. It seems like an hour's ride is no problem for people who like myself like to play frequently. In Worcester, they could have caught the Boston crowd, the Westerm Ma. crowd, and even some Ct. folks who can make a straight shot up from the Ct. casino exit and a straight shot up to Worcester. I don't know why or if Worcester was even looked into, jmo where I would have built a Ma. casino.

[djc32]

If you live in the greater Boston area, North Shore MA ,So. N.H., or the So. ME area, it's anywhere from a 2-4 hour drive to CT. (And some nightmare traffic on 495 and in Worchester at times.) Everett would be under a 1/2 hour-2 hours for the same folks.

There is also a lot of $ along the coast from the greater Boston area north ,up through to coastal Maine that Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun have ruled for 20+ years.And now those players will have the option of a high end Wynn resort/casino ,that takes half the time or less to get to than CT. That's a large player pool with lots of $ that   either CT casino can afford to lose players from. (IMO that's 1 of a few reasons why Wynn or anyone else would choose to build a casino closer to Boston rather than Worchester.)

It's true Olds,some players from MA and other parts of New England will still continue to go to CT, but as you said only "if the deal is right" We'll see?

[olds442jetaway]

I hadn't considered those north of Boston and there is money up that way that is for sure. I used to travel up to Andover about 30 years ago on business and on the way passed some beautiful homes. The coast of course is always money country. I'm sure Wynn researched all of that and then some. If in fact, other casinos are built in Ma to cover the entire state, I think Ct is pretty much screwed. They have already lost some business to NY and a little to RI. I always thought they over built and over expanded and have too many irons in the fire in other places. The abandoned hotel project at Mohegan is a real eyesore from some of the hotel windows and I think they are coming up on a deadline to either finish it or tear it down completely. They are supposedly going to break ground again by the end of the year, but who knows. Plans have been cancelled before.

[djc32]

Olds,
Don't get me wrong, I'd hate to see either Foxwoods or Mohegan fail, but they need to learn from the current AC situation. As you said there is already competition from NY and other New England states, and more on the way in the coming years.

Maine has 2 fairly new casino's that have already taken a small portion of players away from CT. And NH has been kicking around the idea of building 2 casinos ,because they are losing revenue to Maine,CT and soon MA.

I just hope both Foxwoods and Mohegan will consider making some changes. Maybe lowering there room rates,(Mohegan charges $149-$199 a night mid week! FW only charges $59-$89) offering better games,more free play, discounts on gas and meals. Whatever it takes!

Maybe with more completion in the area ,fighting for our gambling $,we as players might get back some of those perks we've lost over the years? Lets hope so!