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    Local municipalities reaping early casino benefits: Editorial

    December 4, 2014

    Advocates of the MGM Resorts International casino in Springfield might suggest that benefits to outlying communities should be based on how heavily their voters supported the project in November.

    That is not how the money is apportioned, of course. Surrounding cities and towns will begin receiving financial aid related to the impact on them, as required by the 2011 Expanded Gaming Act.

    The initial payments, nearly $2 million in all, will be disbursed Friday. They are earmarked to offset traffic and roadway infrastructure impacts created by the project.

    Eight outlying communities will receive payments: Longmeadow, West Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, Agawam, Ludlow, Wilbraham and East Longmeadow.

    Casino opponents will probably not be assuaged by the payments, which were established in recognition of the increased demands on local infrastructure and services caused by the casino

    Economic growth does not come automatically, however. These stipends represent a hard-cash commitment by MGM to the entire area, not just Springfield.

    Longmeadow will receive an initial payment of $850,000, more than 40 percent of the $1.965 million that will be disbursed Friday. West Springfield will receive $665,000.

    Those numbers do not include annual payments to those communities once the casino is opened. MGM has already paid Springfield $1 million to develop an unrestricted community development grant and $150,000 to establish an MGM pavilion at Franconia Golf Course.

    The other six outlying communities will receive smaller payments.

    Throughout a debate that lasted for years over the casino’s relationship to Springfield and the Pioneer Valley, MGM Resorts International has followed every rule and given every indication that its commitment to the region is sincere. These payouts are not gifts but an adherence to the agreement that will allow them to operate in Springfield.

    They recognize the impact the project will have on the entire region. Traffic and infrastructure will be affected, and by making required payments, MGM does not necessarily deserve bouquets.

    By continuing to promptly live up to their agreements, though, MGM continues to build its case that its creation will boost the local economy, sooner rather than later.

    The project is about to enter a time of transition. Cities and towns most affected will now have real money to show as the first evidence the future will be brighter than the past.


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