Springfield (Mass.) City Leaders Favor MGM Casino Plan

Former football star Doug Flutie showed up in Springfield, Mass., for a charity auction last December as a guest of Penn National Gaming. The casino also delivered a $25,000 check to a fire-damaged day-care center. MGM Resorts International funded Springfield’s July 4 fireworks, a float-filled Thanksgiving parade, and a holiday lights display.

Almost a third of the residents of Springfield, in the western part of the state, live below the poverty line. The gambling companies have been lavishing attention on the city, home of gunmaker Smith & Wesson and MassMutual Financial Group, in hopes of winning one of Massachusetts’s first three casino licenses. The state’s gaming commission has the power to decide where casinos will open in western, central, and southeastern Massachusetts. The gaming companies must first get a nod from local officials—and voters. That meant a shower of perks and souvenirs for Springfield residents as Penn National and MGM tried to outdo each other to win them over.