In Springfield, either proposal will bring between 2,000 and 3,000 permanent jobs to the area and another 2,000 temporary jobs, according to Stebbins.
Bruce Stebbins, a Massachusetts Gaming Commission member, speaks at Western New England University on Tuesday evening.
SPRINGFIELD – They are reviewing 21,000 pages of documents submitted by casino developers vying for a license in Massachusetts.
They are sending investigators as far away as China to check out casino investors.
They have been criticized for moving too quickly and moving too slowly.
For the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the most difficult part of their mission has not even begun, according to Bruce W. Stebbins of Springfield, the area member on the five-member commission.
Speaking at Western New England University Tuesday, the former city councilor and business development director outlined the mission of the casino panel he joined in March, 2012.
With 11 developers seeking casino licenses, including four in Western Massachusetts, Stebbins said commission’s decision on issuing licenses will have a profound economic development impact across the state.
“We’ve never seen an economic development project like this (in Greater Springfield), and I’m not sure when we’ll see one again,” Stebbins said.
Springfield officials are considering two competing plans for a local casino. MGM Resorts International is proposing a casino in the South End, and Penn National Gaming is proposing a casino in the North End of the downtown district.
Casinos are also proposed in Palmer by Mohegan Sun and in West Springfield by Hard Rock International.
In Springfield, either proposal will bring between 2,000 and 3,000 permanent jobs to the area and another 2,000 temporary jobs, according to Stebbins.
Currently, the commission is reviewing applications from casino developers, and expects to award as many as three, including one for Western Massachusetts, by February.
A decision on a slot parlor license will be issued in November or December.
Stebbins said fielding proposals from competing casino developers, with each trying emphasize their benefits, has been a novel experience.
“The (process) is kind of flipped on its head,” Stebbins said.
“It any company was coming to Massachusetts with these benefits, everyone from the governor on down would be doing cartwheels to locate it” here, Stebbins said.
The financial reviews of each developer have to be painstaking to protect the public and the host community, Stebbins said.
Initially, the commission had more members than staff, but the equation has changed in recent months.
To review investors behind each proposal, state troopers are being dispatched around the globe, with one heading for Macau, China, Stebbins said.
But some casino advocates have lashed out at the commission for acting too slowly, he said. “I believe the phrase (used by one critic) was like a sloth on Ambien,” he said.