Rolling the Dice

Coverage of casino licensing and the gambling referendum

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(...)

Mohegan slots tops in New England

CT casino's take almost equals all of Mass. facilities

By Paul DeBole Casinos 0 Comments Sep 30, 2020

SLOT MACHINES at the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut are going gang-busters. In August, the casino’s slot revenue was nearly $45.6 million, just $2 million shy of the $47.5 million in slot revenue at all three Massachusetts casinos. Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, also led the pack in New England in August in terms of(...)

My bet is Vineyard gaming is coming

Legal challenges just delaying inevitable

By Paul DeBole Casinos 0 Comments Sep 26, 2020

THE PURSUIT of a casino by the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe on Martha’s Vineyard may be one of the most under-covered stories in Massachusetts. The tribe is trying to open a so-called Class II gaming facility, which is typically referred to as a high-stakes bingo operation. It is bingo, but not with balls dropping and people(...)

MGM Springfield lays off 1,000 employees

Number of workers cut in half, revenue down significantly

By Sarah Betancourt Casinos 0 Comments Aug 28, 2020

MGM SPRINGFIELD is laying off 1,000 already furloughed employees as part of nationwide cuts by its parent company that resulted in 18,000 total layoffs on Friday. The workers have been on a temporary furlough that started in March, when the coronavirus pandemic forced casinos to shut down. “While we have safely resumed operations at many(...)

Casino slot revenues off to a strong start

On a per-machine basis, Plainridge leads way

By Paul DeBole Casinos, COVID-19 0 Comments Aug 26, 2020

GAMING IS BACK in Massachusetts and the casinos are open and ready for business and patrons appear to be ready, willing, and able to play. Plainridge Park reopened on July 8 and both MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor reopened on July 10. We now have some gaming revenue numbers to examine and try to(...)

Casino revenues, amid constraints, do fairly well in July

Fewer games, fewer days – 56% of July 2019 revenues

By Bruce Mohl Casinos, COVID-19 0 Comments Aug 17, 2020

THE STATE’S THREE CASINOS performed fairly well in July, bringing in 56 percent of the revenue they did in July 2019 despite operating far fewer games and slot machines for fewer days. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission said on Monday that Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville brought in(...)

Las Vegas-style casinos face uncertain future

Encore faces big challenges; slots will bounce back quicker

By Scott Van Voorhis Casinos, COVID-19 0 Comments Jul 6, 2020

THE MASSACHUSETTS CASINO industry faces a long and steep climb back as it prepares to reopen over the coming week, with its opulent centerpiece, the $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor, facing a particularly uncertain future. MGM Springfield and Plainridge Park Casino, which rely heavily on less labor-intensive slot machines, are likely to see a rebound(...)

Tribe says US took its land out of trust

Cromwell: Action by Interior secretary cruel and unnecessary

By Cedric Cromwell Casinos, Mashpee Wampanoag 0 Comments Mar 28, 2020

Following is a statement posted on the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe website on Friday. At 4:00 pm today — on the very day that the United States has reached a record 100,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and our Tribe is desperately struggling with responding to this devastating pandemic — the Bureau of Indian Affairs informed(...)

Sports betting bill in play on Beacon Hill

Gambling on pro, college games would be allowed

By Colin A. Young 0 Comments Feb 29, 2020

STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Adults in Massachusetts would be able to bet on professional and Division I college sports in person and through web or mobile apps under legislation released Friday by a legislative panel that’s been studying sports betting for a year. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission would be given the discretion to write the(...)

Wynn slammed by Macau shutdown

Maddox sees some progress at Encore Boston Harbor

By Bruce Mohl Casinos 0 Comments Feb 6, 2020

WYNN RESORTS CEO Matt Maddox said the coronavirus shutdown of all the casinos in Macau for at least two weeks is costing the gambling giant millions of dollars a day in lost revenue even as the company continues to burn through $2.4 million to $2.6 million a day in ongoing expenses for employees. Casino business(...)