MGM In Lawsuit To Block Referendum On Repealing Massachusetts Casino LawCasino Opponents Want Issue To Go To Voters In November |
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Casinos are slated to soon come to Massachusetts, but that hasn’t stopped casino opponents from doing their very best to prevent construction.
Opponents amassed enough signatures to get a statewide vote on repealing the 2011 law that authorized three casinos each in three separate geographical regions of the state. The referendum would happen in November, but casinos interests, including MGM International which wants to build a casino in Springfield, have filed a lawsuit to block such a vote, WWLP reported.
In addition to MGM, Mohegan Sun, Penn National Gaming, PPE Casino Resorts and Raynham Park are involved with the lawsuit. Wynn Resorts was notably absent from the suit.
The Massachusetts attorney general reportedly has said that the repeal effort is unconstitutional, so he’s in the casino corner on this.
The state’s Supreme Judicial Court is expected to rule on case sometime in July.
In addition to the casinos, the 2011 law called for a single slots-only parlor.
The decision on which firms will have the right to build Las Vegas-style casinos could come this spring, as the state weighs its options after hearing the proposals. In order to receive the OK to build, developers are set to pay the state $85 million.
In other words, if the law was repealed, the firms would have paid that fee for nothing.
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