MGM Springfield casino

Officials in Springfield, Massachusetts have produced a plan they hope will spark development around the MGM casino.

The opening two years ago of the first Las Vegas-style casino in Massachusetts – MGM Springfield – boosted the local and state economy, provided job opportunities, and did not increase rates of problem gambling.

     As the coronavirus rages out of control in parts of the country, destination venues in Massachusetts are welcoming visitors under Phase 3 of the state’s staged reopening plan.

   MGM Springfield, closed down because of the pandemic, has donated to emergency food pantries large quantities of perishables from the casino’s restaurants.

     The MGM Springfield casino did not have a major impact on overall crime during its first full year in operation, according to research reported to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

     What does the largest city in western Massachusetts do with the millions of dollars it gets every year from its single-largest taxpayer?     It was a question City Councilors in Springfield asked at a joint committee meeting Tuesday.

   Massachusetts casino regulators appear ready to formally endorse MGM’s role in an urban renewal project in downtown Springfield.

A complex and expensive urban renewal project that has confounded developers for decades in the largest city in western Massachusetts may be close to becoming reality.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has awarded $1 million per year over the next three years for an ongoing investigation into the impact of bringing casino gambling to the state.

    New Hampshire this week became the second New England state, after Rhode Island, to offer sports betting.  The Granite State is encouraging people in Massachusetts to come across the state line to place wagers.

   A big major league baseball offseason event is being held in western Massachusetts for the first time. 

The building of the $2.5 billion Encore Boston Harbor casino saw more women work on the job site than any other construction project in Massachusetts history.

      Employment was down at the MGM Springfield casino during the first half of this year.

     The professional football season kicks off this week, but Massachusetts residents looking to place a legal wager on a game without traveling out-of-state are out of luck.

    MGM Springfield is preparing to observe the one-year anniversary of the opening of the first resort casino in Massachusetts. 

     The Massachusetts legislature is considering whether to significantly expand gambling for the first time since Las Vegas-style casinos were legalized in the state in 2011. 

   Relative calm has returned to the burgeoning casino industry in Massachusetts after a week of uncertainty.  It was triggered by word that MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts were in talks about the sale of Wynn’s yet-to-open Boston-area casino. 

Gambling revenue fell in April at the only resort casino in Massachusetts.  But officials at MGM Springfield say they remain pleased with its overall performance. 

A significant urban renewal project in the heart of the largest city in western Massachusetts may be moving forward with financial backing from casino giant MGM.

    The first resort casino in Massachusetts, MGM Springfield, continues to struggle with keeping minors away from the gaming floor. 

     Casino regulators in Massachusetts are allowing MGM more time to develop the housing that is to accompany the Las Vegas company’s gambling resort in Springfield.

Casino regulators in Massachusetts have endorsed an application by MGM to receive an award for historic preservation for the design and construction of its Springfield resort casino.

As Massachusetts considers legalizing sports betting, bar owners want in on the action.

   Legal gambling has been expanding for the last several years in the Northeast with the opening of more casinos.  The next growth area for gaming is likely to be sports betting.

      There were two significant “firsts” in western Massachusetts in 2018.  The first resort casino in Massachusetts opened in Springfield and the first legal sale of marijuana for recreational use in the eastern United States happened in Northampton.   WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief  Paul Tuthill reported on both, and takes a look back.

            The doors to the MGM Springfield casino opened to the public at 11 a.m. on August 24th, 2018, and for the first time brought Las Vegas-style gambling to Massachusetts.

It has been nearly four months since the first resort casino in Massachusetts opened in Springfield and industry regulators Thursday heard a progress report. 

     Steps are being taken to extend a moratorium on new pawn shops in the largest city in western Massachusetts. 

   The city of Northampton is hoping to get in on the action from the new MGM casino in Springfield.

   Now that MGM has opened the $960 million resort casino in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, the company is facing a deadline to commit to a project to build off-site housing.