New England’s gaming landscape was dramatically altered over the last few weeks.
And the changes are far from over.
The $960 million MGM Springfield gave Massachusetts its first true Las Vegas-style casino-resort when it opened Aug. 24. Last weekend, Tiverton Casino opened in Rhode Island. Coupled with expanded gaming at the Twin River Casino near Providence, the state fired a proverbial broadside at Massachusetts to keep its customer base at home.
Also, Wynn Resorts’ $2.5 billion Encore Boston Harbor opens next year. In addition, casinos in upstate New York, including Resorts World Catskills and Rivers Casino and Resort in Schenectady, are building customer bases.
“There is certain to be competitive pressure in this area,” Jefferies gaming analyst David Katz told investors recently.
He mentioned Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods resorts, the region’s two original casinos, as being “well-established” and bringing “considerable scale to the market and are 67 miles south of MGM Springfield.”
Both MGM Springfield and Plainridge Casino, a slot machine only facility attached to the Plainridge Park Racetrack near the Massachusetts border with Rhode Island, have an advantage, Katz said. The properties’ ownerships – MGM Resorts International and Penn National Gaming – have large customer databases through their national casino ownership.
Penn’s Plainridge Park has “established itself with a specific customer base that is cultivated by the company’s database marketing enhancements and updated slot and food offerings,” Katz said.
Despite being a non-smoking casino (all Massachusetts casinos, unlike Rhode Island, are non-smoking) with 1,200 slots and electronic table games, Katz believes the property has gained a loyal following since opening in July 2015.
“The property’s appearance and the evident high level of customer activity indicate that the property may have distinguished itself in a defensible manner in the face of new competition,” Katz said.
Plainridge General Manager Lance George told the North Attleboro (Mass.) Sun Chronicle the casino was prepared for the competition in Rhode Island to work hard to keep their customers at home.
“We look forward to further developing our marketing program and competing to the best of our abilities,” he said.
MGM Springfield changed the game. The property has 2,500 slot machines, 93 tables, a movie theater, bowling alley and outdoor stage for entertainment. Opening weekend drew an estimated 150,000 visitors and casino President Michael Mathis said the casino “exceeded expectations.”
MGM also ingrained the casino into the fabric of the community. The 14-acre property includes restored area historical landmarks – the First Spirtualist Church and State Armory – that were damaged by a 2011 tornado. The buildings are the centerpiece for an outdoor plaza.
“Almost everything about MGM Springfield ties into the city’s history, including an Indian Motorcycle retail outlet and a plethora of Massachusetts sports memorabilia decorating the sports bar,” Union Gaming Group analyst John DeCree wrote after attending the grand opening. “No detail was too small for MGM Springfield, and the attention to local history is sure to be a continuous draw for local residents.”
Encore Boston Harbor will be the next salvo fired in casino competition. The property, with 671 hotel rooms and 13 restaurants, will draw directly from populous Boston, when it opens next year.
Also, talk still percolates around a joint casino venture between the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to build a casino roughly 15 miles from MGM Springfield in East Windsor, Connecticut that would open in 2020.
“This gaming and entertainment facility will create jobs and will provide additional revenue to the state at a time when every dollar is precious,” Mohegan Tribal Council Chairman Kevin Brown said in a statement earlier this summer about the project, which would be the state’s first casino not on tribal reservation land. The state Legislature approved the development, but it will also need U.S. Department of the Interior approval to move forward.
“We are full steam ahead and excited by the tremendous progress we’ve made to date,” Brown said.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter
