BOSTON—Development teams that have proposed casino resort projects in New Bedford and Brockton in Southeastern Massachusetts appear to be in the running for the state's third casino license after having filed financial plan documents with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
A third team that is proposing a casino resort in Somerset requested an extension in filing financial information in connection with its proposal. The gaming commission had set a deadline for Monday at 5 p.m.
Massachusetts Gaming & Entertainment, an affiliate of Rush Street Gaming, LLC, already submitted financial documents to the commission prior to Monday's deadline in connection with its proposed $650-million casino resort project to be built on approximately 45 acres of land at the Brockton Fairgrounds off Belmont Street in Brockton, MA.
The commission previously determined that MG&E's submitted application was “substantially complete” and has scheduled a “suitability” hearing for this Wednesday at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center where it will review the Brockton casino proposal once again. The MG&E proposal faces another significant hurdle next week when its plan goes before Bedford voters in a referendum vote that is necessary for the project to move forward.
The MG&E proposal calls for a gaming facility, at least 250 hotel rooms, restaurants, sundry retail, event and entertainment space, as well as structured and surface parking.
KG Urban Enterprises, which has proposed to build a casino resort in New Bedford, submitted a series of documents to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission by the Monday deadline, including correspondence that revealed that Scott Butera, the former president and CEO of Foxwoods, has joined the KG Urban project team as a partner. Barry M. Gosin, managing member of KG Urban, informed the commission that Gaming and Leisure Properties is prepared to fund the real property portion of the firm's KG Urban Cannon Street casino project.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission had granted KG Urban several extensions to submit its financial information. While the commission stated in an announcement that it would need to review the submitted documents at a future public meeting, KG Urban released a statement that it had secured financing for the venture.
“KG today submitted documents to the commission confirming that we have secured a financing package for the project that combines funding from a development partner, and equity financing from KG's own principals,” stated Andrew M. Paven, spokesman for KG Urban Enterprises. "In addition, Scott Butera, former CEO of Foxwoods, will be joining KG as a partner. We will be working closely with the commission to finalize the administrative details of KG's RFA1 application.”
In March, the City of New Bedford and KG Urban reached a host community agreement on the proposed $650-million casino resort and conference center to be built on the New Bedford waterfront. The agreement provides a $4.5-million upfront payment to the City of New Bedford as well as $12.5 million in annual payments. The project will include the $50-million remediation of a brownfield site, a $10-million harbor-walk with public access to the waterfront, preservation of the commercial fishing berthing area as well as the creation of a public recreational boating marina.
A referendum vote on the KG Urban casino in New Bedford has been scheduled for June 23.
A third group that has been in the running for the Southeast Massachusetts gaming license, a partnership of Crossroads Massachusetts and Somerset on the Move, which is eyeing property in Somerset to build a casino-resort, asked for an extension after not filing financial information by the Monday deadline. The commission stated on its website that it would have to review the extension request at an as yet unscheduled public meeting.
The commission later this year could grant one casino license in Region C (Southeastern Massachusetts).
The state gaming commission awarded casino resort licenses to MGM Resorts for its casino project in Springfield and to Wynn Resorts for its casino project in Everett last year. The MGM Resorts project recently broke ground and is scheduled to open in 2017, while the Wynn Resorts venture is still in the approval process and is projected to open sometime in 2018.
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