If you’re on the East coast, you could make the trip to Las Vegas for some big gambling and entertainment. Or you could stay closer to home and get the same experiences. Also, can you bet on sports at MGM Springfield Massachusetts and are there sports books up and running yet?
MGM has just opened MGM Springfield, its brand-new casino resort equipped with 2,550 slots, 120 tables games, a high-rollers’ room and poker room featuring 23 tables, as reported by USA TODAY.
“We got quickly focused on western Massachusetts,” Bill Hornbuckle, president of MGM Resorts, told USA TODAY. “We thought there was an opportunity there. We think the market capture is substantive in terms of location and appeal, the uniqueness of the resort and offerings. They have been grossly under-leveraged for years. We can be a catalyst for the city.”
That latter point is especially significant, considering Springfield, Mass. spent a reported $3.7 billion to rebuild its community in the aftermath of a devastating tornado, which ravaged the city seven years ago. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker told CBSthat the new casino will bring 3,000 jobs to the area, calling it a “big win for this region.”
And MGM Springfield is going all out to make sure it’s an immediate hit. USA TODAY reported that it has recruited celebrity chefs Michael Mina and Meghan Gill to oversee its restaurants and has signed, sealed, delivered a Stevie Wonder performance at its MassMutual and Symphony Hall venue on September 1.
“This has helped put us on the map,” Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno told USA TODAY. “Cities such as Springfield have gone through some tough times — the economy, things changing and people going to the suburbs and rural areas. It’s a redefining time, a re-establishment of core urban cities, and MGM has played a pivotal role in that.”
MGM Springfield marks the first major casino resort to open in the area, with Massachusetts set to open another next year, but in Everett, which is outside of Boston. New Yorkers desiring to experience a new casino resort other than the options in Atlantic City, New Jersey or Foxwoods in Connecticut may want to give MGM Springfield a shot.
Can you bet on sports at MGM Springfield Massachusetts – book?
So can you bet on sports at MGM Springfield Massachusetts? In short, not yet. The state of Massachusetts has not yet legalized sports betting in the state but that is expected to change in 2019, or 2020 at the latest. With New Jersey already finding such financial success in the opening of sports books and online sports books, most states in the Northeast are expect to follow suit quickly.
The Wynn Casino in Everett is set to open in June 2019, and it is expected that they will have a sports book up and running as soon as legislation is passed.
