Gaming Commission Denies License for $677M Brockton Casino Resort

A rendering of the proposed casino-resort hotel project in Brockton, MA.

BROCKTON, MA—After nearly three days of deliberations, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday refused to grant a commercial resort-casino license to Mass Gaming & Entertainment, LLC for its planned more than $677-million casino to be built on the Brockton Fairgrounds. The commission voted 4-1 to deny the application to Mass Gaming & Entertainment , an affiliate of Chicago-based casino operator Rush Street Gaming . The decision leaves Southeastern Massachusetts with one major casino project in development. Earlier this month the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe broke ground on its $1-billion First Light Resort & Casino in Taunton, approximately 20 miles from the Brockton project site. Gaming Commission chairman Steve Crosby and commissioners Gayle Cameron , Bruce Stebbins and Enrique Zuniga voted to not award the license, while commissioner Lloyd Macdonald voted in favor of granting the license for the proposed 466,000-square-foot casino-resort hotel. Beginning on Tuesday the commission convened at the Shaw’s Center in Brockton and presented reviews of the casino application submitted by MG&E. In addition, each of the five commissioners oversaw a group of advisers and industry experts that evaluated the application based on categories that included: finance, economic development, building and site design, mitigation and general/overview. “We evaluated and deliberated as thoroughly and comprehensively as we possibly could. These decisions are difficult and we acknowledge can be very disappointing for the invested participants. However in the end, the commission has a responsibility to make a big decision in view of all considerations and that includes the best long-term interests of the Commonwealth,” said Gaming Commission chairman Crosby. Joe Baerlein , a spokesperson for MG&E, in statement in response to the casino denial vote, said, “Although we are disappointed in the decision, we thank the commission for its thoughtful deliberation of our application. We also thank the city of Brockton and Mayor (Bill) Carpenter for their time and commitment to this project. If given the opportunity, we are confident we would have built a great project that the city and all of Region C would have been proud of.” Chairman Crosby in his Overview presentation on the project was highly critical of MG&E’s. He stated, “The approach of the applicant seemed to be: ‘We will do good things. Just trust us.’ I had expected that the applicant might have learned from the broad enthusiasm for the MGM plan in Springfield—enthusiasm that emanated not only from the commission, but from the governor, and many others including casino opponents. The MGM proposal, as I said in my summary evaluation, ‘is a genuinely ambitious and unusual effort to use the economic muscle of a casino development to drive redevelopment of an entire depressed urban area.’ This proposal has virtually none of those features. It sits in the middle of a vast parking lot, completely isolated from any other operating part of the community, with no links or coherent strategies for broader urban renewal or economic development. In this respect, it is a great disappointment.” Brockton Mayor Carpenter submitted a letter to the commission on Wednesday in response to criticism leveled against the application by chairman Crosby, and stated that the Host Agreement between the city and MG&E would help revitalize the Brockton economy. One of the commission’s criticisms of the application was the lack of specifics regarding local hires in connection with the project. The mayor stated in his letter, “The Host Community Agreement contains a ‘residence preference’ in hiring. We estimate that 80% of the 1,800 new jobs created will go to Brockton residents. Conservatively, that pumps $60 million per year into our local economy.” Mayor Carpenter could not be reached for comment at press time. MG&E filed written responses to some of the commission’s objections yesterday, however, in the end its explanations were not enough to sway the majority of the commission to approve its casino-resort application.