And so Massachusetts had a slots parlor
Plainridge Park Casino to open Wednesday.
When Plainridge Park Casino opens this afternoon, it won’t just be ushering the public into a slots parlor. It will be ushering a slots parlor into Massachusetts.
The parlor, operated by Penn National Gaming, is the first facility to open under the state’s 2011 Expanded Gaming Act. It received a license to open from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in early 2014. Construction started shortly afterward, continuing through last year’s ballot question campaign that threatened to stop it in its tracks.
The ballot question failed, and the mission was accomplished. Plainridge Park’s doors will open to the public at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
The slots parlor is located a few miles from the Rhode Island border and will directly compete with Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island, which offers table games. Nearly half—49 percent—of gambling revenue from the parlor will go to the state.
The complex also includes restaurants and an entertainment venue. Long before the state legalized casino gambling in 2011, the site was home to harness horse racing, and live racing is already underway this season.
The gaming commission has also given licenses for full resort casinos to Wynn Resorts for an Everett project and MGM Resorts in Springfield. It is also weighing pitches for a third resort casino in southeastern Massachusetts with proposals in Brockton and New Bedford. The Plainville establishment received the only slots parlor license to be awarded under the law.
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