Gaming Board Chairman Says Casinos Will Enhance Rest of Community

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has "pushed enormously hard" to make sure any casino will "incorporate and enhance the rest of the community," Chairman Stephen Crosby told area business and community leaders Tuesday.

Crosby gave the keynote address at the 495/MetroWest Partnership's Annual Conference, "Ten Years of Collaboration - Decades of Results," at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Boston-Westborough.

The partnership includes Milford, which faces a proposed $1 billion Foxwoods Massachusetts casino development. Plainridge Racecourse is bidding for a slot parlor license.

Crosby discussed "breaking the old model" of a casino, "which is a box in the middle of a space, that has no windows, no way to get out, no clocks, you bring everybody in and you make sure they don't go outside, and you get them to gamble, you get them to eat, you get them to take massages, you give them entertainment. You give them everything, but you suck all the money you possibly can out of the surrounding community into your big, closed box.

"That was the original model. The industry has changed because the industry has proliferated so much, it's a much more competitive situation now. They've had to change their business models," Crosby said.

The commission is nearing the end of its background check process for potential developers, he said. Those background checks have a total cost of $9.5 million, all at the bidders' expense, he said.

Site-specific applications are the next step, Crosby said: "the building, the number of jobs, the revenue, the financial projections, the relationships with the local tourism community," among other facets. Slot parlor applications will be due in October. Casino applications for Eastern and Western Mass. sites will be due in December.

The evaluation criteria categories are finance, mitigation, site and building design, economic development, overview/general, Crosby said.

The five-member commission first convened 13 to 14 months ago and "set out a couple of really critical priorities that we thought were fundamental to being successful in our jobs," he said.

"The integrity of the process" is "our single highest priority," Crosby said.

"This must be a participatory, transparent and fair process.

"If there's any intimation that there's any currency besides the merits of the proposals to influence our opinion, there's going to be big problems, and we will not have the credibility with the public to do our job.

"We're going to have to make decisions that are going to make some people happy and some people unhappy."

The commission now is on its 69th public meeting, Crosby said.

That "we have robust competition for every license" also is a priority, he said.

"That assures is that we will get the best possible deal for the Commonwealth. We have some negotiating strength. We do not have to award a license," Crosby said.

"Each one of these bidders is raising the stakes as they see what their competitors are doing."