09.10.2012 | SPRINGFIELD — Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby speaks at a hearing at Springfield Technical Community College.
Company information
- MGM Resorts
Headquarters: Las Vegas, Nev.
Number of casinos in operation: 23
CEO: Jim Murren
Most recent casino project: CityCenter on the south side of the Las Vegas strip
Annual revenue: $7.8 billion
Number of employees: 50,700
Penn National Gaming
Headquarters: Wyomissing, Pa.
CEO: Peter M. Carlino
Number of casinos in operation: 21
Most recent casino project: Hollywood Casino in St. Louis, under construction
Annual revenue: $2.7 billion
Number of employees: 16,740
Hard Rock International
Headquarters: Orlando, Fla.
CEO: Hamish Dodds
Number of casinos in operation: 7
Most recent casino project: Aruba, where they plan to build a new casino and hotel
Annual revenue: Over $625 million
Number of employees: Over 20,000 (includes all Hard Rock Café locations)
Ameristar
Headquarters: Las Vegas, Nev. 89169
CEO: Gordon R. Kanofsky
Number of casinos in operation: 8
Most recent casino project: Purchase of Creative Casinos of Louisiana
Annual revenue: Over $1 billion
Number of employees: 7,210
SPRINGFIELD — Stephen P. Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, reiterated Thursday that he wants to see more potential casino operators competing for licenses in the eastern part of the state.
But Crosby, who was in Springfield and Palmer on the same day preliminary applications are due to the city of Springfield, said he hasn’t had private meetings with executives from Hard Rock International or anyone else for that matter.
Instead, Crosby said there were probably Hard Rock executives at statewide tourism conferences and other meetings where he’s tried to encourage more casino developers to explore opportunities in Greater Boston.
Hard Rock International, one of four gaming companies vying for the rights to build a Springfield casino, may instead set its sights on the Boston area.
In a Thursday interview with WHYN 560’s “The Morning Show,” Anthony Cignoli, a local partner in Hard Rock, said Crosby had encouraged the company to investigate making a Boston-area proposal to compete with a proposed gaming complex at the Suffolk Downs site in East Boston.
“We have seen what competition has done in the western part of the state,” Crosby said. “When you get more competition, you get better proposals. You get better buildings, more jobs and more economic development.”
He said he would encourage developers to formulate proposals for many different regions of the state. Concentration on one area, or turning away from Springfield to Boston, would be a developer’s own decision.
In Springfield, Penn National Gaming, MGM Resorts International and Ameristar have proposals and Hard Rock is rumored to be waiting in the wings. In Palmer, the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority has a proposal.
There will be only one casino license granted in Western Massachusetts.
But the possibility of a casino in Greater Boston has not generated as much interest, yet.
“We don’t know why,” Crosby said.
Thursday is the deadline Springfield officials set for preliminary applications. Crosby said whether a late starter would be allowed to apply after Thursday is up to the city alone. The state wouldn’t force the city to accept a late application.
The state Gaming Commission is deferring to the city until and unless the city’s process conflicts with what the state is doing.
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