Rolling the Dice

Coverage of casino licensing and the gambling referendum

Casino revenues continue to make gains

Largest tax haul for the state since Feb. 2020

By Colin A. Young Casinos 0 Comments May 17, 2021

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER POSTING THEIR best month since before the COVID-19 pandemic in March, the casinos and slots parlor in Massachusetts reported similarly positive revenue figures for the month of April, generating the largest monthly state tax haul since February 2020. The slots parlor at Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield, and Encore Boston(...)

Casinos hoping odds in SJC case tilt in their favor

High court takes up challenge to blackjack rules

By Shira Schoenberg blackjack odds, Casinos 0 Comments Apr 5, 2021

COULD A DISPUTE over the payout odds for blackjack actually rise to become a case before the Supreme Judicial Court? You bet. In an unusual case, the state’s highest court will consider whether the state’s two casinos – Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield – were legally allowed to offer less favorable odds than is(...)

Key senator releases sports betting proposal

Bill aggressive on taxation; college games excluded

By Shira Schoenberg sports gambling 0 Comments Feb 22, 2021

SEN. ERIC LESSER, a key player in the state’s debate over legalizing sports betting, on Monday laid out his vision for the state’s latest gambling expansion, unveiling a proposal that is aggressive on taxation but would bar wagering on college games. Since the US Supreme Court legalized sports betting nationwide in May 2018, at least(...)

Gaming numbers improved in January

All three casinos showed improvement

By Paul DeBole Casinos 0 Comments Feb 20, 2021

THE MASSACHUSETTS GAMING Commission released the casino revenue figures for the month of January 2021 this week and those revenue numbers look encouraging. All three gaming venues, Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park, showed increases in their monthly revenues. Encore Boston Harbor saw slot revenues increase by a total of $3.6 million over(...)

Lottery finding its footing during COVID

Keno is the game most hurt by pandemic

By Colin A. Young Massachusetts Lottery 0 Comments Jan 26, 2021

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS LOTTERY saw greater sales and profit performance during the six months from July through December 2020 than it did during the same six months in pre-pandemic 2019, despite changes in consumer behavior and sharp restrictions on key Lottery venues like restaurants and pubs. Having survived three months of depressed(...)

Judd-Stein: Casinos haven’t asked for COVID relief

‘They have made no requests that I know of,’ she says

By Bruce Mohl Casinos 0 Comments Jan 25, 2021

THE CHAIR of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission says the state’s three casinos have not asked for any financial breaks during the pandemic despite shutdowns, capacity restrictions, and curfews that have cut into their revenues. The two casinos in Everett and Springfield and the slots parlor in Plainville were shut down March 14, reopened in early(...)

Sports betting bill refiled, seeks more revenue

Crighton says Mass. needs to get in on the action

By Shira Schoenberg Casinos 0 Comments Jan 22, 2021

SPORTS BETTING is back. State Sen. Brendan Crighton, a Lynn Democrat, reintroduced a bill this week to legalize sports betting in Massachusetts, reviving a debate that died without action at the end of the last legislative session. “Looking at the states around us, folks are going to bet on sports whether or not we legalize(...)

December gaming revenues show promise

Despite COVID restrictions, slot revenues rising

By Paul DeBole Casinos 0 Comments Jan 19, 2021

LAST WEEK’S REVENUE REPORT from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission suggested the state’s casinos are doing pretty well, given the many restrictions imposed by COVID-19. Monthly slot revenues for the Commonwealth’s two category 2 casinos showed modest increases, with Encore Boston Harbor posting a 3.9 percent increase over November’s numbers, and MGM Springfield showing a 9.51(...)

Tribe chairman arrested for extortion related to Taunton casino

Head of architecture firm allegedly paid $57,000 in bribes

By Shira Schoenberg Casinos, Cedric Cromwell 0 Comments Nov 13, 2020

THE CHAIRMAN of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and the owner of an architecture firm that the tribe contracted with to help build a casino in Taunton have been arrested on bribery and extortion charges. Tribe chairman Cedric Cromwell, 55, of Attleboro, and David DeQuattro, 54, of Warwick, Rhode Island, are facing federal charges, US Attorney(...)

N.E. gaming market is not saturated yet

Slot growth suggests the market is still growing

By Paul DeBole Casinos 0 Comments Oct 8, 2020

A YEAR AGO I would have said the gaming market in New England was saturated, with a relatively fixed number of customers bouncing between casinos based on promotions or geographical convenience. But a closer look at the numbers, particularly at gross receipts for slot machines, suggests the market is continuing to grow even with nine(...)