Since it faces no competition in western Massachusetts, it was mostly theater when MGM Resorts International CEO James Murren presented the project to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. The latter will have months in which to mull the enormous volume of supporting documentation and the values of the project. But Murren’s testimony was mainly for show, although it allowed him to make the point that, with 19 points of ingress and egress, MGM Springfield would allow patrons to reach amenities without being marched through the casino floor. Now comes the tantalizing suspense of waiting to see whose applications are accepted and whose are not.
Internet gambling is still in its legal infancy but that’s not deterring state Sens. James Whelan and Raymond Lesniak. They want New Jersey to enter into interstate and international compacts to open “the worldwide market to us, the $30 billion Big Kahuna,” as Lesniak put it. The two solons’ bill would require background checks and other vetting of i-casino affiliates. And if banks don’t lower their resistance to i-gaming payments, this vehicle isn’t going to make it out of the driveway.
* Maintenance isn’t job one at Harrah’s Philadelphia. Neglect of the track has led to the suspension of live racing.
