The state has released the second and final application and set a deadline for companies hoping to build a casino or slots parlor in Massachusetts.
CHICOPEE – Saying it is time to end the talk that a casino could come to the city, state Rep. Joseph F. Wagner said the Cabotville mill is not suitable for a resort or slots-only casino.
But Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette, who supports a casino, said the site is developable, and he will continue to entertain interest from any company that wants to come to the city.
In a disagreement between the two that was sparked by a statement Wagner issued Monday, both questioned the veracity of the other’s statements and their motives.
Wagner called for an end to pronouncements that Chicopee may serve as a host community for a casino, saying the site is not large enough without buying other property and there is so little time to meet deadlines from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that it is “virtually impossible” to get into the casino game.
The Associated Press reported Monday that the gambling commission unveiled the second and final application form for companies hoping to build a casino or slots parlor in Massachusetts. The 236-page Phase 2 application asks for detailed information from would-be developers, including building and site design, economic development plans and how they will manage traffic and other issues in the area where they hope to build. The commission set a deadline of Dec. 31 for companies in the eastern and western regions to submit applications, and an Oct. 4 deadline for slots parlor bidders.
The initial, Phase 1 applications sought information about investors for ongoing background checks being conducted by the commission. Investors did not have to have a site for the casino to apply . Before submitting a Phase 2 application, companies must negotiate a host community agreement and have it approved by voters in a referendum.
“It’s time to stop talking about something that isn’t going to happen,” Wagner said. “The fact is that no legitimate resort casino operator has recently expressed a serious interest in Chicopee. Statements suggesting otherwise will only serve to mislead people and create false hope for residents who support the idea of a casino.”
Some of the disagreement is over whether Penn National Gaming ever had serious interest in the Cabotville Mills after Springfield officials selected MGM Resorts International in the South End as its preferred site over Penn’s proposal for a casino in the North End.
Two weeks ago Penn National representatives announced they no longer wanted to locate in Western Massachusetts. They would not give details on past discussions in Chicopee.
Wagner said he talked to Penn National officials shortly after MGM Resorts was selected as the preferred developer on April 30, and they said they were not interested. But Bissonnette said about three weeks ago that they were still looking at Cabotville.
“His statement about Penn National telling me they were not interested in looking at Chicopee is an absolute falsehood,” Bissonnette said.
The original proposal to convert the mill into a casino came from Western Massachusetts Development Co., which had previously been interested in locating a casino in Holyoke under the name Paper City Development. The company made a last-minute request for a waiver to the state application deadline to buy time to flesh out its Chicopee plans, but the proposal died when the request was rejected.
“Mr. Wagner is obviously entitled to his opinion. However, he makes an interesting statement that certainly invites speculation about his motives. He has been trying to stop developers from looking at Chicopee for years, and his latest statement is both amusing and a little sad,” Bissonnette said.
Wagner, the chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emergency Technologies, wrote the expanded law with another legislator, said the idea has no basis in fact and challenged Bissonnette to prove it.
“If the mayor can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a developer who has at least $500 million to invest, then we are off to the races, but I don’t believe that will happen,” Wagner said.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.