MGM Springfield Opens to 150,000 people

Over 3 days

There was so much hoopla over the opening of MGM Springfield, you would have though it was the second coming of Caesars Palace in Vegas.  To be honest, so many hopes and dreams of Springfield’s residents do rely on its success.  Instead of re-inventing our coverage, I will just list our posts for your perusal.

Everything You Need To Know About MGM Springfield & “Industrial Chic,”  

MGM SPRINGFIELD – Entertainment, MassMutual Center & Symphony Hall;  

MGM Springfield Kept Community History in Casino Consideration; 

MGM Springfield Trip Report 

But there was more happening on the New England Landscape besides MGM Springfield…….

TIVERTON CASINO HOTEL & CASINO OPENS

Twin River Moves Newport Grand to Tiverton

We also covered the opening of the casino that is supposed to take Newport Grand’s place and put more competitive pressure on Massachusetts & Connecticut for the Twin River Management Group.  Here’s our coverage:   Tiverton Casino Hotel – Our Last Summer Trip Report

Mohegan selected to oversee Canada gaming, entertainment venues

Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE), which oversees the company and its subsidiary casinos in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, announced Monday it has been selected by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) to assume daily operations of its Fallsview Casino Resort, Casino Niagara, and 5,000-seat Niagara Falls Entertainment Centre, which is currently being built.  OLG will assist in managing the casinos, known as the Niagara Gaming Bundle, including approvals for operational changes.  Fallsview Casino spans over 2.5 million square feet, with 200,000 square feet of gaming space and more than 3,000 slot machines and 100 gaming tables. Casino Niagara, meantime, has a 95,000-square-foot gaming floor with 1,500 slot machines and more than 40 table games.  All this taking place while managing Resort in AC, building a $5 billion resort at Incheon International Airport in South Korea, the opening of ilani on 152 acres near La Center, Washington with the Cowlitz Tribe, opening Paragon resort Casino in the heart of Louisiana, and preparing the huge plot of land across the Thames River from its flagship property in Preston, CT.  Mohegan Sun News – Plans for Norwich Hospital Site and Mohegan Expo Center.  It’s obvious Mohegan Sun is not sitting still while Massachusetts continues to add casinos. Oh, and did we mention Mohegan Sun announced Momentum partnerships with MSC Cruises, the world’s largest privately owned cruise line, and with Samuel Adams, the Boston brewery; the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League; Blue Back Square, a shopping and live entertainment destination in West Hartford; and Hartford Stage, a theater?

Maine’s top court – could a tribe run a casino on tribal land without state permission

Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians Tribal Offices

The House last month approved Rep. Henry Bear’s order asking the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to consider whether a U.S. Supreme Court decision would allow the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians to conduct gambling on tribal trust land. Efforts to allow tribal casinos in Maine have long failed. A third casino in Maine is still being sought, if not by business men and politicians, now by Maine’s tribes. The Maliseets do run Bingo events weekly.

It’s Not All Great News at MGM Springfield when it comes to underage gambling

Inside MGM casino

Casino.Org’s Katie Barlowe reported that “MGM casino executives admit that they’ve had issues with minors finding their way onto the gaming floor, which is not exactly the most comforting news to area residents.” Mathis described the casino as “a very mixed-use, downtown, porous design” which has “created an unexpected challenge: difficulty in ensuring that underage patrons don’t have access to the gaming floor. MGM Springfield officials told regulators that there was a mix of intentional non-gaming areas in the venue, and inadvertent violations by visitors who don’t understand the exact age limits or where children are allowed to be was causing the problems.”  It seems that simple 4-ft barriers along the edge of the casino would help, similar to the Fox Casino at Foxwoods (ironically built by MGM in their joint venture with Foxwoods years ago).  Trouble is, there is no space to spare.

Mathis outlined some of the steps that MGM Springfield was taking to correct the underage access problem. Unattended minors are now banned from the venue, with anyone under 16 considered to be a minor for those purposes. In addition, there is now a midnight curfew for the resort. After midnight, only those 21 or older or those who are hotel guests are allowed in the complex.

Binbin

When you gamble, embrace the Math, not the Myth.