Massachusetts Gaming Commission to study MGM's request to delay casino opening

Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said at a meeting that he would be hard-pressed to overrule the casino, the city and some of its neighbors, who are worried about the impact of traffic from the I-91 construction project.

"I'm not sure who we are to say we disagree, we think traffic will be fine, we're going to override MGM, the city and all the neighbors," Crosby said, but he added that the Gaming Commission has a duty to the citizens of Massachusetts "to get the money rolling as quickly as possible."

Crosby said the commission expects to make a decision on the delay at its meeting in either two or four weeks. The timing will depend on when the commission can get a construction schedule from the contractor hired by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to do the viaduct project.

MGM Springfield asked the Gaming Commission to allow it to delay opening of its $800 million casino by about a year, from late 2017 to September 2018, because of construction related to the I-91 viaduct deck replacement project.

MGM wants to open a month after the I-91 project is completed, since the construction is expected to close lanes and cause traffic in the area around the casino.

The target date for the opening was not part of the casino's host agreement with the city. Springfield city officials agreed to back the delay after MGM promised to pay the city $1 million in the fall of 2017, in addition to payments MGM is already obligated to make under its host agreement with the city.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation, however, has said it does not believe MGM needs to delay the opening of the casino because of the construction. Massachusetts could lose USD 125M in expected gaming revenues if MGM delays its opening.

Jeffrey Ciuffreda, president of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, wrote to the commission supporting the delay. "While we are excited to have those 3,000 much needed jobs filled and people working, and the visitors to our area come in for this attraction and all else we have to offer, we also need the MGM Springfield project to be sustainable for many decades to come and we believe a proper, uninterrupted opening is essential to that happening," Ciuffreda wrote.

Mary Kay Wydra, president of the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Raymond Berry, president of the Springfield-based White Lion Brewing Company, also wrote letters supporting the delay.

John Ziemba, the ombudsman between outside groups like MGM and the Gaming Commission, said the commission has hired an outside team of consultants to analyze all aspects of MGM's construction plan to make sure the plan is reasonable and takes into account things like potential weather delays. There will be a separate review of the traffic impacts of the I-91 viaduct project. Ziemba said the state and city "are making tremendous efforts" to minimize the impact of the viaduct construction.

Crosby add the commission will consider both whether the construction schedules are reasonable, and whether MGM can operate successfully before the viaduct project is done. "It's a tough call because just because the schedule says it's going to get done, when's the last time something got done on schedule?" Crosby said.

Gaming Commissioner James McHugh said the study "is not a finger pointing exercise. This is a coordination exercise. What is the our best judgment as to what time periods are necessary to accomplish essential tasks."