The following is and excerpt from MassLive, published December 15, 2022
SPRINGFIELD — MGM Springfield’s building at State and Main streets — 1200 Main St. — still has concrete jersey barriers, a temporary-looking awning over its sidewalk and no signs of life behind its windows. It doesn’t have a boutique hotel as was once the plan.
The unfinished development of what was Springfield’s first skyscraper is emblematic, says state Rep. Bud L. Williams, of where MGM Resorts International has failed to meet the promises it made in the years-long quest for its operating license leading up to a lavish, August 2018 grand opening.
Williams isn’t the only one questioning MGM’s commitment to Springfield and to its host community agreement as the $1 billion project closes in on its five-year anniversary with closed shops and a signature restaurant that’s only open on weekends.
Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and City Councilor Michael Fenton, chairman of the city’s Casino Oversight Committee, said they’ve taken their complaints to MGM management. Fenton said the discussions have been going on for months. Sarno said he’s received a commitment from MGM corporate leadership that they will be in Springfield next month to address the city’s concerns.
“I have had some concerns about these issues, which I have voiced to MGM leadership. I have spoken to (William) Hornbuckle, CEO and president of MGM Resorts International, to request he personally come to Springfield as soon as possible to not only discuss these concerns, but to also confirm MGM’s commitment to the city and honor the agreements made per our Host Community Agreement,” Sarno said via email. “Mr. Hornbuckle has reassured me that he will be out here by mid-January.”
“Now is the time for MGM to turn all the lights back on and return to full operations, as they promised per their Host Community Agreement with the city.”
Williams aired his concerns for the first time on Tuesday night in one of a barrage of news releases directly referencing allegations made in a lawsuit by former MGM employee Chelan Brown that the casino provided inaccurate reports on its diversity hiring practices. The news releases came within an hour or so of each other and included comments from Brown, from City Councilor Malo Brown, who is an aide to Williams, and from Springfield civil rights icon and Williams’ predecessor in the Statehouse, Benjamin Swan. Councilor Brown is a brother-in-law to Chelan Brown.
“I am a supporter of MGM, and I applaud its contributions to the Springfield community, yet complaints and allegations need to be investigated properly so that the community and city is assured MGM will meet expectations for equity and inclusion as required by both the host agreement and state law,” read the statement from Swan. “I stand ready to assist MGM in working with legislators and district community partners to meet the diversity requirements and ensure that opportunities are distributed in a fair and equitable way.”
Williams said he was not coordinating his concerns with the Chelan Brown lawsuit. Instead, he’s reacting to issues that have been building for years and to MGM’s missing a deadline in October to get a sports gaming license application into the Gaming Commission.
The commission voted to accept the application after a corporate legal counsel said the $200,000 application fee had been filed by the Nov. 21 deadline but a two-day delay in filing the application had their fault. But Williams said he sees it as sloppiness and as another symptom of MGM’s disinterest in fulfilling its commitment to the city.
“That was supposed to be a launching pad for a lot of economic development in the city, and I just don’t see it”
Williams, a former city councilor, said. “I supported MGM 1,000 percent, but they are falling short.”
He pointed to disappeared amenities including the Kringle Candle Emporium and Indian Motorcycle shops that are closed. The Chandler Steakhouse is open only Friday, Saturday and Sunday, he noted. The bowling alleys are also only open on weekends as well, and Topgolf simulator suite is only open to groups of 25 or more.
MGM is one of the partners in the redevelopment of 31 Elm St. on Springfield’s Court Square, a project that is moving forward, but MGM’s plans for the former School Department Building at 195 State St. fell through and that property is now in the hands of a new developer.
The state Gaming Commission itself took MGM and Encore Boston Harbor to task earlier this year for not reopening table games and poker and hiring more dealers. The casinos were instead relying on cheaper-to-operate slot machines.
Williams also pointed out that MGM is not meeting its goal of hiring 3,000 employees. MGM has around 1,330 employees as of its last formal report to the Gaming Commission in October. MGM has said the 3,000 employee goal is unrealistic in a post-COVID economy when travel is still down and workers are difficult to find. MGM’s larger National Harbor property in Maryland has 3,000 employees.
Williams concedes the point. “That (3,000-employee promise) was lofty,” he said. “If they could get 2,500, 2,600, that is what I would like to see. But that’s double where they are now.
As to minority hiring, MGM has not hired the numbers it promised. According to its own self-reported statistics, it’s meeting minority, women, and veterans hiring goals. MGM promised that half its employees would be minority members. As of the end of the third quarter it was at 51% or 683. It promised that 2% would be veterans. As of October, 5% of staff were veterans for a total of 71.
MGM promised that half its employees would be women, but is falling short with only 40%, or 537 employees, according to third-quarter numbers provided to the Gaming Commission.
In an emotional Wednesday night news conference outside the Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse, in the shadow of MGM Springfield, Chelan Brown recounted her experience which was the subject of her lawsuit. She told of working first on MGM’s campaign to win voter approval and then on diversity hiring programs during construction. She also told of alcohol use among MGM management and how, without going into detail, she as a woman was made to feel uncomfortable.
After noticing inaccuracies in the reports that MGM submitted to state regulators showing diversity in hiring and in procurement form woman- and minority-owned companies, Brown restated allegations contained in her legal action that she was demoted and eventually fired.
MGM still lags when it comes to spending with minority businesses. According to its most recent filing, it spent 3% with minority businesses in the second quarter and 1% in the third quarter versus an annual goal of 10%.
What does this have to do with the villages of Hardwick? Should we allow a horse racing track here, and Commonwealth Racing falls short of their promises outlined in the Host Community Agreement, the town can sue. However, how is a small rural town supposed to financially afford the legal fees that would come along with suing multi-millionaires with deep pockets? Simple. We can't. We would go bankrupt.
This article also discusses how the state Gaming Commission took MGM and Encore to task, forcing them to open more gaming tables. {To fill the state's coffers}. If Hardwick allows a horse racing track, you don't think the state will do the same to us? If Hardwick votes yes to a horse racing track, we lose control. We have no say in the amount of racing days, and neither will Commonwealth Racing, and Commonwealth Racing knows this.
Currently the Gaming Commission requires a minimum of 100 race days (though it is supposed to change next August to a minimum of 20), but the number will still be at the discretion of the Commission. If they want more revenue, they will force more race days. And Hardwick and surrounding towns won't be able to do anything about it.
wsj had a lenghty article on gaming and sports betting addiction. can someone reproduce it here? its a warning shot over the effect of gambling and gaming on our future generations.
fdb