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 […]
Rolling the Dice
Coverage of casino licensing and the gambling referendum
Posted inGambling
Lawmakers push for expansion of Plainridge
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
Keep your eye on Twin River Casino in RI
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 […]
Posted inGambling
Rep. Hill appointed to Gaming Commission
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. casinos returning to pre-pandemic revenue levels
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. casinos may need Legislature’s help
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 […]
Posted inGambling
Casino revenues continue to make gains
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 […]
Posted inUncategorized
Casinos hoping odds in SJC case tilt in their favor
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 […]
Posted inGambling
Key senator releases sports betting proposal
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 […]
Posted inOpinion
Gaming numbers improved in January
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 […]