Baker won't attend opening of first casino 1,200 slots 19 miles from Wampanoag's proposed casino site

Baker won't attend opening of first casino 1,200 slots 19 miles from Wampanoag's proposed casino site

ARTICLE | Politics | May 20, 2015 01:30 PM | By Michael P. Norton, State House News Services

  - See more at: http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2015/05/20/224490-Baker-wont-attend-opening-first-casino#sthash.GxrMVhKG.dpuf

State's first casino opening 50 miles from Cape Cod.

BAKER NOT PLANNING TO ATTEND "HISTORIC" CASINO OPENING

While acknowledging its historical significance, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday he does not plan to attend next month's opening of the first gaming facility authorized under the 2011 casino law.

Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, which won the sole slot parlor license available under the law signed by Gov. Deval Patrick, plans to open its doors June 24, with state government set to begin reeling in a share of the facility's revenues.

"I don't think I'm going to be there for the opening," Baker said during his monthly "Ask the Governor" segment on WGBH radio.

Plainville casino is 30 miles from Brockton, 47 from New Bedford

Developers are eyeing potential casinos in Brockton and New Bedford - Brockton voters recently narrowly signed off on hosting a casino and a vote in New Bedford is scheduled for June 23. Aside from the competition before the Gaming Commission for the commercial license the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe wants to build a casino in Taunton, but it has been unable to obtain federal approvals for its tribal casino.

The facility -- located on Route 1 roughly 35 miles south of Boston and 18 miles away from Providence, Rhode Island -- is expected to have over 1,200 slot machines.

House lawmakers believe the slots parlor will generate $104 million for local aid to cities and towns, including the figure in their fiscal 2016 budget proposal. Baker's budget included a more conservative estimate of around $84 million.

Baker said the facility will employ 600 people. "It's a significant change. It's an historic moment in some respects," Baker said.

With resort casino licenses awarded to Everett developers in eastern Massachusetts and a Springfield venue in western Massachusetts, Baker said he sees continued "uncertainty" in southeastern Massachusetts.

"I really do believe, and I could be wrong about this, that some of the uncertainty in the southeastern market's going to slow down the process anyways, separate and apart from whatever the Gaming Commission does," Baker said.

The governor noted the close vote in Brockton, the presence of the Plainville facility nearby, and the tribe's plans in Taunton.

"There is a lot of activity down there," Baker said.

Baker said he does not play Massachusetts Lottery games, but recalled joining friends eight or ten years ago for their first trip to Las Vegas to celebrate someone's birthday.

"The people-watching was fun," the governor said. "We went to a bunch of shows. We played a little bit of blackjack . . . Those other games, I just don't understand how they work at all."

Baker said he won $700 one night playing blackjack at the Bellagio, recalling leaving phone messages for his former coworkers at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care saying "I'm not coming back to work, I'm just going to gamble full-time, and then I gave it all back the next day."


Live Racing is now underway and runs through November, and youn can get in on simulcast action from around the country.
 

Related Content:

Tribe asks AG to investigate slot parlor regs

UPDATE: Somerset group withdraws application ~ Brockton voters approve casino

Gaming Commission awards first casino license

About the Author »

Michael P. Norton, State House News Services

- See more at: http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2015/05/20/224490-Baker-wont-attend-opening-first-casino#sthash.GxrMVhKG.dpuf

....Massachusetts casino competition as New Bedford advances....

Somerset developers withdraw from Massachusetts casino competition as New Bedford advances

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press First Posted: May 14, 2015

BOSTON — Developers of a proposed Somerset casino have withdrawn from the competition for Massachusetts' third and final resort casino license, leaving two proposals in the running: one for New Bedford's waterfront and another for the Brockton Fairgrounds.

Crossroads Massachusetts LLC, in a brief letter released by state regulators Thursday, does not cite a reason from dropping its application.

No one from Crossroads was present at a meeting of the state Gaming Commission and a representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said he wasn't surprised by the plan's demise. Commission members in recent months have expressed doubts about the viability of the project as its leadership team changed and it scrambled to assemble financing.

"Nothing surprises me in this business. We never know who is in or out until the last minute," he said.

With Somerset officially out of the competition, attention now shifts to New Bedford and Brockton.

Brockton voters on Tuesday narrowly approved a casino referendum calling for a $650 million resort developed by Mass Gaming and Entertainment, a subsidiary of Rush Street Gaming, a Chicago-based company that operates casinos in Pennsylvania and other states.

On Thursday, the gaming commission allowed the New Bedford casino proposal to move forward in the competition.

After warning the applicant about continued delays, the commission voted to deem their initial application "substantially complete," on the condition that they submit the last of their required financial details in two weeks.

"We're really just down to the final economic terms," promised Scott Butera, a former Foxwoods CEO who is now a partner with KG Urban Enterprises, the New York-based firm that wants to build a $650 million Foxwoods resort on the site of a former NStar power plant.

"Our patience is not unlimited," said Crosby. "Word to the wise: this has got to get moving quickly."
Crosby said the commission hopes to award the license by the end of 2015.

And, in a related development, an Indian tribe seeking federal approval to build a resort casino in Taunton, a city also in the state's southeast, said the gaming commission violated state law by allowing slot parlors to offer electronic versions of table games like blackjack and roulette.

The Mashpee Wampanoag, in a letter to state Attorney General Maura Healey's office released Thursday, said state law limits slot parlors to 1,250 machines and no casino table games.

But the state Gaming Commission approved a regulation last year allowing for up to 1,500 "gaming positions" on 1,250 gambling machines.

Healey's office said it's reviewing the complaint.

Crosby and other commission members defended their actions, saying the now-disputed regulation clarified ambiguity in the state law and was approved after a "rigorous" public hearing process in which no one objected.

The complaint comes as Plainridge Park Casino, a slot parlor in nearby Plainville, is slated to open June 24 with 1,250 slot machines, of which about a dozen are multi-user electronic table games.



http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/ebcbe266eada4db989058c6e94d23f40/MA--Massachusetts-Gambling/

Somerset group withdraws application ~ Brockton voters approve casino Region C is where the Wampanoags also hope to build a casino

UPDATE: Somerset group withdraws application ~ Brockton voters approve casino Region C is where the Wampanoags also hope to build a casino

ARTICLE | Business | May 14, 2015 07:00 AM | By Gintautas Dumcius, State House News Service - See more at: http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2015/05/14/224425-UPDATE-Somerset-group-withdraws-application-Brockton-voters-approve-casino#sthash.YUcPFPpT.dpuf

Region C has three major applicants for one license.

UPDATE: The group that was seeking to build a resort casino in Somerset abandoned its efforts this week, leaving active bids in New Bedford and Brockton in the ongoing hunt for a southeastern Massachusetts casino license. Crossroads' withdrawal leaves two groups in the competition for a "Region C" casino license: Mass Gaming & Entertainment, an affiliate of Rush Street Gaming in Chicago, which is hoping to bring a casino to Brockton; and KG Urban, part of a group aiming to build a casino on the New Bedford waterfront.

     Citing competition in "Region C" as a priority, the state Gaming Commission on Thursday voted 4-0 to consider KG Urban's application "substantially complete," allowing them to go forward, though regulators want an update from the group on additional background information in two weeks.

     In the same region, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is on a different track, looking for federal land approval so they can proceed with building a tribal casino in Taunton.

Voters narrowly sign off on Brockton casino proposal

Commission meets Thursday to discuss the bids for Region C

Voters in Brockton approved on Tuesday a resort casino proposal by a 143-vote margin.

The vote keeps Mass Gaming & Entertainment in the race for a casino license in southeastern Massachusetts, also known as "Region C."

Other potential contenders include a group looking to bring a resort casino to New Bedford and another looking to build one in Somerset.

Mashpee Tribe still in the game

Separately, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe is interested in building a casino in Taunton and is waiting to see if the federal government allows for land to be taken into trust for the tribe.

The unofficial results, according to Brockton elections officials, had 7,163 votes for the proposal, or 50.5 percent, and 7,020 votes against the proposal. The officials said they do not expect a recount.

Mass Gaming & Entertainment, affiliated with Rush Street Gaming in Chicago, is proposing to build a $650 million casino located on the Brockton Fairgrounds. The agreement with the city of Brockton, which voters approved on Tuesday, includes at least $10 million a year in revenue for the city.

Roughly 32 percent of Brockton voters went to the polls.

"Our thanks to Mayor Bill Carpenter, the Brockton City Council, Senator Tom Kennedy, George Carney and the Brockton community leaders for their support," Neil Bluhm, chairman of Mass Gaming & Entertainment, said in a statement. "We are confident that our proposal for a resort casino at the Brockton Fairgrounds will produce a tremendously positive impact for the City and the Commonwealth. We look forward to working closely with the community as we pursue the gaming license for Southeastern Massachusetts."

State gambling regulators have already handed out licenses for casinos in Everett and Springfield, and a Plainville slots parlor is scheduled to open in June.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is set to meet on Thursday at 10:30 a.m. inside the Hynes Convention Center, where they will discuss the bids for a "Region C" license.
 

- See more at: http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2015/05/14/224425-UPDATE-Somerset-group-withdraws-application-Brockton-voters-approve-casino#sthash.YUcPFPpT.dpuf

New Bedford, KG Urban, Somerset, Brockton....

FYI - The ST story has misread the law regarding the referendum window.

The 60/90 day window runs from the date a request for an election is received by the "governing body" (presumably the city council), not from the date the HCA is signed.

Thus, there must be at least 60 days advance notice of the election. If the request were made today the election could be no sooner than June 13, which is three weeks after the final RFA-2 applications (including a certified vote) are due.

 

Thus, NB is out of the running without a waiver or another extension. Ditto Somerset by the way.

 

MGC will probably allow some latitude, but the last extension was a .3-2 vote and patience is wearing thin. If this runs into a summer vacation election situation and Brockton votes YES MGC could pull the plug.

KG Urban is a brownfield developer NOT a casino operator.

No date yet for New Bedford casino vote but council says it's in favor

City Council passes resolution showing state gaming officials unified support for $650 million waterfront proposal

 

 

 

By Mike Lawrence
mlawrence@s-t.com
Posted Apr. 14, 2015 at 2:01 AM

NEW BEDFORD — A date for a citywide vote on the $650 million casino and hotel project proposed for New Bedford’s waterfront had not been set or suggested to the New Bedford City Council as of Monday as the clock continued to tick for the developer’s application.

A vote in the city would have to occur between May 18 and June 17 to comply with state law, which requires a vote be held between 60 and 90 days after a Host Community Agreement is signed. The city signed its agreement with New York-based developer KG Urban Enterprises on March 19.

“I have heard nothing on the referendum vote,” Council President Brian K. Gomes said Monday, indicating KG Urban had not yet proposed a potential date.

Activity on the casino front has been in a holding pattern this month, as KG Urban works to secure equity investment for the project ahead of a May 4 deadline set by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. A KG Urban spokesman could not be reached Monday.

The council passed several casino-related motions Thursday night in City Hall, though, including a resolution put forward by Gomes to express to the Gaming Commission that the council has unified support for the New Bedford casino project.

Gomes’ resolution cited the benefits of an estimated $50 million environmental cleanup that KG Urban would be obligated to fund on the project’s site, an abandoned NStar power plant off Route 18 on MacArthur Drive, just southeast of downtown.

Support for the resolution was unanimous. The City Council also unanimously approved two motions proposed by Councilor-at-large David Alves. One asked KG Urban representatives to appear before the council’s Appointments and Briefings Committee, to outline their plan for the 27-acre project, which also would include a conference center, public marina, $10 million harbor walk, commercial fishing berths, retail and more.

Alves’ other motion asked KG Urban to work with the council’s Gaming/Casinos Committee to hold “a series of meetings throughout New Bedford, to present and respond to local residents as to the economic benefits of the future casino…and to have developers listen and respond to the concerns of our residents.”

The casino would bring at least $12.5 million to the city in annual payments from KG Urban, plus a $4.5 million up-front payment and additional tax revenues, should city voters approve the project and should New Bedford win the sole resort casino license the Gaming Commission can allocate in Southeastern Massachusetts.

Opponents have argued that a casino would hurt downtown businesses, not provide high-paying jobs, escalate personal bankruptcies and drain resources for people already struggling financially.

Local debate on the proposal is gradually heating up. The New Bedford Chamber of Commerce asked its members in an email Monday to weigh in on the project, so the chamber could best speak on their behalf.

While the Leadership SouthCoast organization has talked about hosting a public forum, former Standard-Times Associate Publisher and Editor Bob Unger, chairman of Leadership SouthCoast’s board, said Monday that those talks hadn’t yet solidified.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20150413/NEWS/150419741

Somerset Meeting Tuesday, April 14th

The reminder below was sent by a friend.

Please remember that Predatory Gambling effects those within a 50 mile radius.

We're all neighbors!



         Just a reminder to all my Fall River friends that what happens in Somerset will NOT stay in Somerset. As you all know if Somerset gets a casino Fall River and Swansea will suffer the fall-out repercussions. I don’t need to list them for you. But I write to remind you that the national director of Stop Predatory Gambling, Les Bernal, will speak tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14th at 7 p.m. in The Old Town Hall at 1480 County Street, Somerset (parking lot next door). The press & cable t.v. will be there, and we need to show a large united opposition. So please come join us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somerset casino backers ask commission for more time

Somerset casino backers ask commission for more time

By Sean P. MurphyGlobe Staff March 18, 2015

A proposal to build a casino near a major highway in the town of Somerset has gained some momentum in recent days with the addition of two well-known executives to its development team, but the proposal will need an extension of a deadline to remain in the competition.

The state Gaming Commission has made clear its desire to pick from two or more competing casino proposals when it awards the state’s only remaining license to operate a Las Vegas-styled casino.

Such a competition may produce the best possible casino for the Southeastern region, where unemployment is high, commission members have said.

 

 

But to get its wish, the Gaming Commission must again extend its deadline for two business groups to submit their initial applications to the commission. Both the Somerset group and a group proposing a casino on the New Bedford waterfront have missed several deadlines and are asking the commission for still more time.

The Somerset group now includes James Karam, a major developer in the Fall River area and former president of the University of Massachusetts board of trustees, and Scott Butera, who until last year was chief executive officer of Foxwoods Resort Casino, the Fall River Herald reported.

In a letter this week, the Somerset group, known as Crossroads Massachusetts, asked the Gaming Commission for a 21-day extension to allow it to recruit more investors.

Also asking for an extension is KG Urban Enterprises, which is proposing a $500 million casino on the New Bedford waterfront, to be operated by Foxwoods Resort Casino. In its letter, KG Urban asked for a 45-day extension to continue negotiating with New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell over a plan both parties support.

The Gaming Commission, which meets Thursday, previously extended the deadline twice.

A third group, Mass Gaming & Entertainment, has completed its application for the license with a proposal for a $650 million casino in Brockton.



https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/03/18/group-proposing-somerset-casino-bolsters-team/3DScGeuxvAgRWYAdZiNBMO/story.html


 

Casino a poor fit for Somerset

Letter: Casino a poor fit for Somerset

Posted Feb. 22, 2015 @ 2:01 am

Economists and gaming researchers throughout the country know that casinos are bad economic development and a social curse. The casino industry is imploding because of exponential growth over the past decade prompted by fierce competition among multiple same-state casinos and from rival casinos in nearby states. The community that was promised millions of dollars in tax revenue from casino profits is in worse shape than before a casino came to town.

So what is it that continues to drive city councils and boards of selectmen to believe that a casino would be the saving grace that will boost their revenue-starved budgets to a treasure chest of economic wealth? Could it be the spike in crime that will accompany a casino or devaluation of property in the immediate and not so immediate area? The increase in drunk driving arrests and extra law enforcement and emergency personnel that the community will be responsible to provide? Skyrocketing judicial court costs, gambling addictions that spiral out of control within 10 miles of a casino, divorces, lost time from work, job terminations, small business closings, homelessness, child neglect, suicides? The exploitation of the elderly who the gaming industry shamelessly lures to their casinos offering cheap meals, free bus and van trips, pharmaceutical services that demand no co-payment, escape from depression and loneliness with all the flashing lights and sounds of the slot machines, meanwhile, preying on those same seniors’ social security checks, retirement funds and savings?

A casino in residential Somerset just doesn't fit. It’s bad economic development. It doesn't even begin to approach, on any level, ethical responsibility on the part the selectmen. They should have researched the negative socioeconomic impact of a casino before presenting the proposal to residents as a possible diamond in the rough.

John Tripp

Somerset

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20150222/OPINION/150229878/101228/NEWS0301



Thank you, Mr. Tripp!

This is a poor fit for Somerset, a poor fit for the Commonwealth!

Predatory Gambling has no positives to offer any community.

The market in the northeast is saturated, revenues are declining with the only hope to create MORE GAMBLING ADDICTS.

Harrah's [now Caesars] determined that 90% of their profits originated from 10% of their patrons. That's GAMBLING ADDICTION! 

The revenues are not from High Rollers, rather from local low income people are you so accurately pointed out. Seniors on Social Security are targeted.

This is a sad commentary on Bad Fiscal Policy!

Don't bet the farm on Somerset casino

A community opposition group is already forming in Somerset, another dumb location for a Slot Barn!

There are 159 posts here. [at the bottom, click on
"older posts" to see more]
http://middlebororemembers.blogspot.com/search/label/Milford

Please remember: MILFORD DEFEATED THESE CLOWNS!
Milford created a template!

Mike Moran: Don't bet the farm on Somerset casino

OK, I admit it. I may have a gambling problem.

No, it's not what you think. I'm not powerless over the lure of slot machines, video poker or even Keno. You won't find me standing ahead of you at a convenience store selecting scratch tickets at sloth-like speed while you wait patiently to pay for your bread and milk. Nope, I'm not that guy.

Herald News Photo | Jack FoleyThe corner of Brayton Point Road and Wilbur Avenue from the southwest corner of the town Farm property in Somerset. The land is a mix of woods and fields. Somerset on the Move LLC is proposing to build a resort casino on the property.




By Mike Moran
Opinion Columnist Posted Feb. 11, 2015 at 4:25 PM
Updated Feb 12, 2015 at 11:09 AM

OK, I admit it. I may have a gambling problem.

No, it’s not what you think. I’m not powerless over the lure of slot machines, video poker or even Keno. You won’t find me standing ahead of you at a convenience store selecting scratch tickets at sloth-like speed while you wait patiently to pay for your bread and milk. Nope, I’m not that guy.

And table games, like blackjack and roulette, do nothing for me. In fact, I once watched silently for an hour as real gamblers played at a craps table. I walked away knowing nothing more than I did when I arrived.

I admit that I’ll lay down a couple of bucks to play Powerball when the jackpot climbs to gigantic levels. Do I expect to win? I understand that the odds are better that I will be struck by lightning while riding a unicycle up President Avenue.

So what is the nature of my gambling problem? Actually, it’s more like a casino problem. You see, like the hallucinations that appear before the eyes of an exhausted, parched desert traveler, I see casinos everywhere. Until recently, they were permanently imprinted on my mind, as politician after politician promised me that a casino in the SouthCoast would someday exist.

There was the riverboat casino the folks from Circus Circus told us would chug up and down the Taunton River. Then there was the land-based casino at Fall River’s former municipal airport. We all recall the New Bedford casino that former Gov. Bill Weld and former Mayor Rosemary Tierney said was a sure thing in 1993. It might be at the site of the municipal golf course, we were told. Then again, it might be on the waterfront.

Rem-ember the one Mayor Will Flanagan tried to create in Fall River’s reservation-biopark area? How about the casino at the site of Fall River’s New Harbour Mall? That was a great one, right? The CEO of Foxwoods even showed up at Government Center to tell us how swell it would be, until he changed his mind and started courting New Bedford. It was then that talk about a Fall River waterfront casino, possible at the failed Hess LNG site, commenced — another false alarm. We also have the Mashpee Wampanoag casino proposal in Taunton, strategically placed near the well-travelled Route 140-Route 24 interchange. And Brockton wants to come up to the plate and take a swing.

All these casinos, ready to sprout from the ground like weeds, right?

Wrong.

Now we’ve got the latest entry in the contest to create the biggest and best imaginary casino. This one, we’re told, will be nestled in a spacious tract of land off Route 103 in Somerset.

Let me ask an impolite question. Does anyone really, truly believe that a casino will be constructed on Wilbur Avenue? Have you ever travelled over the Braga Bridge into Somerset at 5 p.m. on a weekday and taken the ramp to Route 103 East? Did the sluggish crawl of the traffic make you want to get out of your car and walk to your destination? Now imagine what that trip will be like when a casino opens a quarter mile down that same road.

Before you get too concerned though, consider a few things. Somerset residents would have to vote at least three times before the first shovel enters the ground. According to Don Setters, the chairman of the Board of Selectmen, we could expect a town meeting vote on a proposed zoning change. Then there would be a vote to sell or lease the property for use as a casino. Finally, a vote on a host community agreement would take place.

Assuming all that receives voter approval, and I doubt it will, there would then be a proposal to the state Gaming Commission for a license, followed by an endless string of hearings, meetings, environmental permitting, and other bureaucratic steps.

I’m not anti-casino and never have been. But we’ve been told too many times that “the casino” was coming, and it simply hasn’t happened. And while I understand the motivation of some within Somerset’s corridors of power to consider any idea that will help make up the lost revenue from the town’s two power plants, casino talk is always a risky proposition.

A small grassroots opposition group has started to form in town, but I don’t think too many Somerset residents take the casino plan seriously — not yet. Who knows, some residents may even like the idea.

But you can bet on this: Political leaders who unfairly raise expectations that a casino is coming may be making the biggest gamble of all — one that could have a profound effect on their own political future.

http://www.tauntongazette.com/article/20150211/OPINION/150218998#150218998/?Start=1&_suid=1423921553358026376466980122576

Is it Casino Vultures or Casino Sharks circling?

5 groups vying for Massachusetts’s final casino license

By PHILIP MARCELO
Associated Press

Monday, February 2, 2015

 

 

The competition for Massachusetts’s final casino license, reserved for the state’s southeast region, is slowly coming into focus, as state regulators announced on Friday that Mass Gaming & Entertainment had met the application deadline.

 

The company, an affiliate of Chicago-based Rush Street Gaming, joins New York-based KG Urban Enterprises, as potential rivals for the license.

 

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission said Friday that it also is evaluating application extension requests from Somerset On The Move, Crossroads Massachusetts and the Seafan Trust. All five groups will be invited to address the commission at its next meeting on Feb. 5.

 

Applicants were to submit by Friday detailed financial information about key players and investors in their projects as well as a $400,000 non-refundable fee to defray costs of the commission’s background investigation.

 

But only three of the five possible applicants – Mass Gaming & Entertainment, KG Urban Enterprises and Crossroads Massachusetts — have paid the required fee, the commission said. Applicants must pass the background check before they can continue to the next phase of the process, which focuses on the project proposal itself.

Mass Gaming & Entertainment operates Philadelphia’s SugarHouse Casino and Pittsburgh’s Rivers Casino. It had previously sought a slot parlor license for a development in Millbury but eventually dropped that plan in the face of local opposition. The company declined to release its application materials or any information about the proposed project Friday. But George Carney, owner of the Brockton Fairgrounds, said the company is eying his facility. He declined to elaborate further.

 

 

KG Urban Enterprises, a real estate development firm already has said it wants to build a casino on the New Bedford waterfront.

 

Kathryn Wheaton, who runs the Brookline-based Seafan Trust Corp., has said her group wants to develop a $4 billion casino called the Sun Moon Resort at a 500-acre location she declined to identify.

 

Somerset on the Move LLC, is headed by David Hanlon, a former president of Harrah’s Atlantic City operations and the Rio hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Somerset town leaders hope the company develops a casino on 100 acres of town-owned land just off Interstate 195. The company did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

 

Crossroads Massachusetts LLC is an investment group that included the late David Nunes, who had been working with Connecticut-based casino operator Foxwoods to bring a resort to Milford before residents rejected the proposal in a 2013 referendum.

 

The southeast region faces a number of challenges for casino gambling, including a relatively weak economy and competition from area casinos.

 

Twin River Casino is just over the state line in Lincoln, Rhode Island, and the Mashpee Wampanoags are seeking a federal tribal reservation in Taunton, Massachusetts, where they hope to build a resort casino that does not require a state license. The tribe on Friday touted a “key milestone” in its efforts: approval of the project’s environmental impact report. The tribe said it’s the final step in the state’s environmental review process.

 

Massachusetts already has awarded two resort casino licenses: one to Wynn for a $1.6 billion development in Everett just north of Boston and another to MGM for an $800 million casino in Springfield. Penn National Gaming also holds a slot parlor license for the harness racing facility it’s expanding in Plainville, a town in the state’s southeast region.

 

 

 

http://www.concordmonitor.com/news/work/business/15502493-95/5-groups-vying-for-massachusettss-final-casino-license