Right Here Waiting: The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will pay Springfield $350,000 to establish a trust that will preserve all historic buildings within a half-mile radius of the casino footprint. These funds match an investment promised by MGM. Ostensibly, this is one of the final points of order in what has been a lengthy back-and-forth between MGM and the state’s historical commission. Ladies and gentlemen, grab your hard hats, but leave your dice at home for now — the commission still needs to decide whether to allow MGM to delay opening until September of 2018, which would allow for completion of the I-91 viaduct construction project.
Toxic: Good thing we didn’t try for a community garden. MGM has found a “reportable level” of contaminants in the soil at nine parcels of casino land. This isn’t a big surprise — the company predicted they would find some of this in the environmental impact study they submitted in November. MGM is responsible for investigating and dealing with these findings, which so far include hydrocarbons, lead, and contaminated groundwater. Go Team Clean-Up.
Don’t You Want Me: The MGM Springfield project chugs onward, but the plan developed by Wynn Resorts to build a $1.7 billion complex in Everett has hit some roadblocks. The cities of Boston, Revere, and Somerville have all filed lawsuits that would halt the project wholesale. They want a do-over on the licensing competition, claiming that the state gaming commission wrongly awarded the license to Wynn Resorts over a proposed casino at Suffolk Downs in Revere. Google this news for much name-calling and righteous indignation on all sides.•
Can’t casino executives catch a break from time to time? Send your sarcastic commiserations, and other thoughts, to hstyles@valleyadvocate.com.
