12 Worcester Business Journal | August 6, 2018 | wbjournal.com
New casinos in Springfield, Greater Boston
challenge Central Mass. tourism
F O C U S
H O S P I T A L I T Y & T O U R I S M
BY GRANT WELKER
Worcester Business Journal News Editor
GAMBLING AGAINST
THE HOUSE
C
entral Massachusetts has
always had to compete
against what some in
tourism call the three B's:
Boston, beaches and the
Berkshires.
Now, add a fourth B: betting.
On Aug. 24, an MGM casino will
open in Springfield with not just betting
but far more: a 250-room hotel, an
eight-screen movie theater complex,
and a 10-lane bowling alley. Next year,
another casino will open just north of
Boston, at Encore Boston Harbor in
Everett.
e fight for entertainment dollars
is not getting easier for Central Massa-
chusetts venues and attractions, even if
leaders aren't sure how casino competi-
tion will play out.
"It's a big unknown," said Troy Siebels,
the president and CEO of e Hanover
eatre and Conservatory for the Per-
forming Arts and board chairman for
tourism marketing nonprofit Discover
Central Massachusetts. "A lot of us don't
know what the impact will be. I think
we're a little bit worried."
Protecting existing venues
e state's casino gaming law, which
was passed in 2011, attempted to protect
other performance venues, like the
Hanover.
Hanover and Symphony Hall, a venue
in Springfield, both signed an agreement
with MGM encouraging cooperation
between the casino and the older venues
to keep them from competing with one
another for acts. MGM was barred from
building a venue of between 1,000 and
3,500 seats or from booking acts that
would preclude them from playing at
MGM Springfield has been readying for
an Aug. 24 opening, when it will become
the state's first full-service casino.
PHOTOS/COURTESY
