Rolling the Dice

Coverage of casino licensing and the gambling referendum

Bally’s in R.I. taking aim at Mass.

Some Bay State lawmakers eager to fire back

By Bruce Mohl Casinos 0 Comments Sep 16, 2021

CASINO WARS in New England are officially starting to heat up. The newly renamed Bally’s Twin River officially broke ground Thursday on a major expansion of its casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island, spurring nervous lawmakers in Massachusetts to push for legislation that would allow the slots parlor in Plainridge to expand its offerings to remain(...)

Lawmakers push for expansion of Plainridge

Says table games, more slots needed to compete against Twin River

By Colin A. Young Casinos 0 Comments Sep 14, 2021

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HAVING ALREADY advanced House and Senate versions of sports betting legislation, the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies dedicated much of its Tuesday hearing to two other longstanding proposals to further expand casino-style gambling in Massachusetts. The two ideas — allowing table games at the state’s lone slots parlor(...)

Keep your eye on Twin River Casino in RI

Big changes coming, which could impact Mass.

By Paul DeBole Casinos 0 Comments Sep 7, 2021

WHEN YOU THINK of casinos in New England, what comes to mind are Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, which continue to dominate the region and account for between 42 percent and 45 percent of the total amount of cash fed into slot machines by casino patrons. Encore Boston Harbor, a relative newcomer to the New England gaming(...)

Rep. Hill appointed to Gaming Commission

Leaving Legislature after 22 years in office

By Bruce Mohl Casinos, Massachusetts Legislature 0 Comments Aug 20, 2021

REP. BRAD HILL, a Republican from Ipswich, is leaving the Legislature after nearly 22 years to become a member of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Hill is a joint appointment of Gov. Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey, and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg. He is replacing Bruce Stebbins, who left the Gaming Commission to join the Cannabis(...)

Mass. casinos returning to pre-pandemic revenue levels

Encore, MGM set records; Plainridge tops in slots

By Paul DeBole Casinos 0 Comments Aug 16, 2021

THE STATE’S THREE gaming facilities reported strong revenues in July, with the numbers at Encore and MGM Springfield returning to pre-pandemic levels and the Plainridge Park slots facility trending in the same direction. The best way to compare slot revenues is on a per machine, per day basis. Slot revenues, in general, can fluctuate wildly(...)

Mass. casinos may need Legislature’s help

Recent slots numbers indicate

By Paul DeBole Casinos 0 Comments Jun 23, 2021

I GET IT! Massachusetts is slowly beginning to emerge from the cocoon of the COVID-related shutdown of a significant portion of the Commonwealth’s economy. The effects of that shutdown have been felt across all ranges of business activity, especially our nascent gaming industry. I have read, with some amusement, the news stories touting the post-pandemic bounce(...)

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(...)