“It is true that a variety of the amenities that were contemplated in the HCA (Host Community Agreement) and the referendum are not currently being realized to their full potential,” Fenton said in an interview with WAMC. But he said he is hopeful MGM will pick up the pace of returning to “business as usual.” Springfield City Councilor Mike Fenton, chair of the Council’s Casino Oversight Committee, said MGM should be cut some slack because travel and the hospitality and leisure sectors of the economy have not recovered fully from the pandemic. He said he has spoken with MGM Resorts International President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle and will meet with him in Springfield in January and seek to “confirm MGM’s commitment to the city” and that it will honor the obligations spelled out in the Host Community Agreement. In a statement, Mayor Domenic Sarno said he too has had some concerns. Prior to the COVID-19 shutdown in March 2020, there were about 2,500 people working at the resort casino that includes a 250-room hotel. In its last quarterly report to state gaming regulators, MGM said it had approximately 1,300 employees. MGM met its goal of 3,000 employees for only a brief time when it first opened in August 2018. Today, there are empty storefronts across the street from the casino. “People specifically voted for stuff and that is my concern that those things the voters in the city voted on are not being met,” Williams said. He said in order to win local approvals and obtain a state license, MGM hyped the casino as an economic engine that would spread the wealth downtown and generate great new employment opportunities. “There are some promises that were made that I think we could do a better job of keeping the promise,” said Democratic State Rep. These are the critiques voiced this week by some local officials.

Restaurants open only on weekends, retailers that appear to have permanently closed, a prominent building on the casino campus still surrounded by scaffolding and concrete barriers, and a workforce that is at roughly half the pre-pandemic headcount. Some officials in Springfield, Massachusetts are questioning if the MGM casino is failing to keep the lofty promises made when it secured a gambling license.

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