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Western Mass. Casino License Award Scheduled For June 13

MGM Springfield

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has released a revised schedule for licensing resort casinos

The commission expects to announce on June 13th the awarding of the lone casino license in western Massachusetts, where MGM Springfield is the only applicant.  The licensing award in greater  Boston, where Wynn Resorts and Mohegan Sun are competing will not occur before August 29th , according to the revised schedule.  Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno could not include payments from MGM in his proposed city budget because the license has been not been formally awarded. 

"Obviously we welcome that money because it is going to be very instrumental in public safety, libraries, the riverfront," said Sarno.

Once licensed, MGM is to pay Springfield $15 million up front and then $25 million annually once the casino opens.

The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.