Map of Massachussetts' casino landscape still incomplete
Overshadowed by the attention focused last week on what some regard as MGM Resorts’ downsizing of its Springfield, Mass., casino project was gaming regulators’ refusal to expedite action on the Bay State’s third and final casino license.
Massachusetts Gaming Commission members indicated that the federal government’s approval of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s request to have land taken into trust for a $500 million Taunton casino will not affect their timetable for considering an application from Mass Gaming & Entertainment, the partnership proposing a $650 million Brockton project in the same region.
While some experts believe the Mashpees’ casino would render another southeastern Massachusetts casino untenable, Mass Gaming & Entertainment has so far claimed it's determined to stay in the game.
Before the U.S. Department of the Interior approved the Mashpees’ application, Mass Gaming & Entertainment pressed the commission to commit to issuing a commercial license for so-called Region C regardless of whether the tribe’s Taunton project gets the green light.
“Region C should not be left behind. Region C should not have to remain in limbo,” John Donnelly, an attorney for the applicants wrote in a Sept. 18 letter to the commission.
Donnelly said an Innovation Group study of the possible scenarios found that Massachusetts would derive the most tax revenue from a casino in Brockton alone.
The next most revenue would be received from casinos in both Brockton and Taunton, and the least revenue would be received from just a Taunton casino.
The projections reflect the fact that a tribal casino in Taunton would face a 17 percent tax on gaming revenue if it were the only casino in the region and would pay zero taxes if a Brockton casino also were built. The Brockton casino would be required to pay a 25 percent tax rate as well as an $85 million licensing fee.
“It’s not a question of whether a commercial casino would be economically feasible,” Commissioner James McHugh said at last week’s commission meeting in Springfield. “It’s What is the economic impact of a commercial casino on the commonwealth? What is the return if there are two casinos, one of which pays no taxes?”
The total number of jobs that would be created and the ancillary economic activity two casinos would generate also have to be considered, he said.
“These questions have to be looked at in terms of actual numbers.”
The deadline for Mass Gaming & Entertainment’s submission of a final application for a Region C license is Wednesday.
The commission would not be expected to rule on it until next year, possibly as late as March.
By then, work will have progressed on Massachusetts' already-approved casinos — MGM Springfield, which has proposed eliminating a 25-story hotel tower in a bid to stay within an $800 million budget, and Wynn Resorts' $1.7 million project in Everett.
In a bid to counter the looming competition, southeastern Connecticut's casino-owning tribes, the Mashantucket Pequots and the Mohegans, have formed a partnership to pursue a third Connecticut casino north of Hartford.
They expect to submit plans for a project to the state legislature early next year.
Twitter: @bjhallenbeck
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