The casino’s other attractions seemed to be drawing more people. A man with a cane looked sadly at another. An elderly woman on oxygen poked at one slot machine’s buttons. Last Monday evening just after sunset, the gaming floor was low energy. He said the CVS will provide new amenities, making the area more attractive to residents and justifying new market-rate housing, a virtuous cycle “that we’ve helped to kick-start,” he said. Mathis noted that a Wahlburgers is poised to open soon at the casino, and a CVS is coming in across the street, two signs of good things to come. “I like to focus on the 2,300 jobs or so that we are providing,” he said. “If we are behind in some place, like we’re behind in Springfield, we’re ahead in many other places,” James Murren told investors.Īs a result, the casino has shed hundreds of jobs since it opened, although Mathis emphasized that MGM employees are paid well and receive benefits. On a recent earnings call, the chief executive of the casino’s parent company, MGM Resorts International, acknowledged that Springfield had not lived up to expectations. Whereas most casinos are self-contained, MGM Springfield was designed to blend into the downtown area, driving patrons to nearby restaurants, shops, and other businesses.īut although the company projected more than $400 million in first-year gambling revenues, through 49 weeks it had brought in just $253 million, a massive shortfall. That boost in customers was part of the plan. Sales have been “consistently double-digits” above the same month last year, he said.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |