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(...)

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(...)