Community Corner

Mass. Casinos a 'Worst-Case Scenario' for CT?

Officials in Springfield have approved details for an $800 million gambling complex south of that city.

Springfield officials have moved that city one step closer to opening a resort-destination casino that would directly compete with Connecticut’s two casinos.

The city’s mayor announced Tuesday that Springfield will sign an agreement with MGM Resorts International for an $800 million gaming complex that would be built south of the city and would include a range of entertainment options, along with gambling, according to a report in the Hartford Courant.

The 850,000-square-foot casino would provide 2,000 construction jobs and would employ 3,000 — 2,200 full-time — when finished, the Courant reports. It would bring an additional $17.6 million in taxes each year to financially beleaguered Springfield.

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It is one of four casinos planned for Massachusetts in coming years and while that state will reap major financial benefits from gaming, the impact on Connecticut is of concern to officials here.

Under an agreement with the two Native American tribes that run Connecticut’s casinos, Foxwoods Resort and the Mohegan Sun, the state gets 25 percent of all slot machine revenues from each tribe. That money, which totals more than $1 billion annually now, is then distributed to all towns across the state, money that helps fund essential municipal and school programs.

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The casinos planned in Massachusetts would erode a large percentage of Foxwoods’ and Mohegan Sun’s customer bases, according to the blog Hartford Business, which calls the planned casinos in Massachusetts a "worst-case scenario" for Connecticut.


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