MassGaming.com - A Wealth of Information
The process that Massachusetts is going through can be somewhat bewildering. The confusion over sites and licenses, deadlines and political concerns can be rather frustrating, causing some us to patiently scream "Just build the damn things!"
Of course it's not so easy. There are so many personal, political, environmental, socio-economic, finacial, and transportation concerns to be considered, of course the process seems longer than it should be. But, we all know every must be left un-turned to issure the potential success and saftey of each property, because when it's built (unlike Las Vegas) it's there to stay!
The Massachusetts Gaming website at massgaming.com is a great resource for keeping track of all gambling in Massachusetts. It's quite extensive, but here are a few important sections to check out concerning the Casino process:
- Community Caleandar - this lists the community events, meetings, and reports that are included in the requirement of all potential casino builders to rech out to the communities.
- Live Streaming - watch live video of MassGaming's open public meetings. If you can't get to a meeting in Springfield, for example, it might be included in this live feed.
- Licensing & Regulations - a little tough to get through, but very informative concerning the process.
- Timeline - which established the approximate time frame for the licensing process for its Category 1 (resort casinos) licenses in regions A (Eastern MA) & B (Western MA). The status of Region C (Southeastern MA) is on hold until at least March 15, 2013.
Mohegan Sun unveiled a new name and brand for its Western Massachusetts casino endeavor: Mohegan Sun Massachusetts.
The new brand features a new logo, updated website, direct-mail newsletter, and social media functions.
Mohegan Sun is taking the rich railroad history of Palmer, Mass. and incorporating it into the new location’s brand. The logo features a signature railroad track motif and the history is highlighted in some of the architectural features of the new casino, which is to be built on 151 acres of land in Palmer.
“We wanted our logo and brand to reflect the great history of Palmer because the community has been so supportive and engaged,” says Mitchell Etess, chief executive office of the Mohegan Trial Gaming Authority.
Mohegan Sun has also announced a new event series: “Working At and Working With Mohegan Sun: A Community Conversation.” This project is designed to answer questions, provide extensive employment information, and establish vendor relationships with the casino giant.
The new northwest Massachusetts location will create over 2,000 new jobs in a variety of fields. Etess explains that Mohegan Sun Massachusetts will, “deliver jobs, revenue, economic growth and memorable experiences for visitors from all over the Northeast – and from every corner of the Commonwealth.”
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Update
With regulators on the cusp of opening up the southeast region of the state to commercial casino developers, Gov. Deval Patrick and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe have a “framework” of a compact they plan to show federal officials in the hopes of avoiding another rejection, according to the governor.
“We’re in negotiations,” Patrick told reporters on Tuesday. “We’ve got a model we’re trying to work through with the tribe, and we have a hope – I think it’s either by the end of this week or early next week – to be able to go down to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and show them the framework so that we can get some preliminary feedback from them and we don’t go through the process we did the last time of thinking we had a deal that was going to satisfy them. It’s hard.”
The Mashpee are hoping to build a resort casino in a Taunton office park. In December, the Gaming Commission tabled discussion of whether to start the licensure process for other, commercial developers in the southeast region, giving the tribe until March 15 to show progress has been made in securing the necessary land-in-trust agreement from the federal government and on the compact. The commission plans to revisit the discussion at its Thursday, March 21 meeting, the first after the deadline.
So much happening - So little time! That's all for now.
Tomorrow is back to "Sun" Sundays!
Binbin
