MGM Springfield Casino Falls Short of First-Year Revenue Estimates

MGM Resorts is out of luck when it comes to the Massachusetts gambling industry. It can’t get a license to operate in Connecticut. In addition, the first-year revenue of MGM Springfield Casino didn’t hit its expectations.

In its first year of operation, the casino earned $253 million in revenue. It was way below the estimated $412 million that MGM thought it will earn in Springfield. MGM Springfield Casino President Mike Mathis said that they failed to attract gamblers from the tribal casinos in Connecticut.

Mathis told gambling software solution providers that their original revenue projections were made a couple of years earlier. However, local market situations changed. Although the venue met its original goal of hiring 3,000 workers when it opened in 2018, it has 2,300 employees at present.

MGM Springfield Casino and other Future Plans

MGM Resorts submitted a plan for the construction of a Bridgeport casino resort in September 2017. However, state laws provide exclusive rights to the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to operate casinos in the city.

Governor Ned Lamont asked MGM Resorts and the tribes to come up with a solution. However, the tribes unheeded the governor’s request. Last month, the legislature introduced a bill known as the Connecticut Jobs and Revenue Act.

The bipartisan bill will allow a new tribal casino in Bridgeport, as long as the tribes allocate at least $100 million to the project. The total cost of the casino resort is $300 million. On the other hand, MGM’s Bridgeport project was worth $675 million funded via private capital.

MGM filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Interior to nullify its approval of the tribal casino on nontribal land. The best bookie pay per head reported that the CJRA reaffirmed the tribal casino project and continue to ban nontribal entities in the Connecticut casino sector.

The guide to becoming a bookie states that sports betting remains illegal in the state. Sports wagering bills are still up for discussion during the last legislative session. In fact, the House is not in a rush to pass any of the proposals this year.