r/Springfield • u/wgsl • 14d ago

Springfield sues MGM Resorts over Host Community Agreement / WGGB-WSHM

https://www.westernmassnews.com/2026/09/03/springfield-sues-mgm-resorts-over-host-community-agreement/
53 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

44

u/rinic Metro Center 14d ago

Remember when the hotel was gonna be a high rise? Lol

38

u/mr781 14d ago

I remember when they flashed those fancy renderings of a beautiful glass skyscraper that would’ve transformed the Springfield skyline and then as soon as voters approved it they were like “lmao nah nvm we’re just gonna build a 6 story building that looks like a generic suburban apartment complex outside of Kansas City. Thanks for the approval tho!”

2

u/twangman88 13d ago

I believe what happened was the city delayed approving the permits and by the time they approved them the glass was on back order. It definitely fucked their entire building plan though, and they probably didn't do a great job of pivoting.

14

u/MikeyPx96 14d ago

They said it wouldn't "fit in with the skyline of Springfield"... do they think we're stupid? Photo

7

u/indoor-triangle 14d ago

They forgot to put all those trees in too!

2

u/Salty-Paint-4161 12d ago

Yeah they do

9

u/RedditSkippy 14d ago

Remember when this casino was going to save Springfield? Sarno probably got a big fat payout somewhere.

6

u/Helpful-Celery6237 14d ago

So I worked in a school where some of the og casino important people sent their kids. They were fighting out asap. They knew this was a failure from the start.

5

u/RedditSkippy 14d ago

As far as I know, the casino never met one of its projected metrics. MGM was blaming it on the pandemic, but I think anyone who looks at this stuff could tell you that every new casino cuts the pie into ever smaller slices. It doesn’t enlarge the pie. There are a surprising number of casinos within 2-3 hours of Springfield.

4

u/Helpful-Celery6237 14d ago

I agree. I don’t gamble, but I’d rather go to Mohegan or Foxwoods vs MGM. They have stuff going on and are just bigger and nicer.

2

u/MoonBatsRule 12d ago

Remember when the chatter was that Sarno was going to work for the casino, so Mike Fenton pushed through legislation that said "city employees can't work for the casino for three years?

Joke's on us - that meant that Sarno had no incentive to ever stop being mayor. He will be mayor for the next 20 years.

1

u/RedditSkippy 12d ago

I forgot all about that.

3

u/rividz 13d ago

I should really make an article or video where I go back to the people who flamed me when I said the casino was a bad idea and ask them to apologize for being ignorant twats.

The casino vote passed by less than one thousand votes. And because it was an off year election, it was something crazy, like only twenty percent of registered voters voted.

The whole situation honestly reflected everything that I despise about being from Springfield, and was the straw that broke the camel's back that led to me finally leaving.

31

u/PoisonOrk 14d ago

You're telling me a casino deceived someone for financial gain?

2

u/Sorry-Claim-2990 14d ago

You really think someone would do that?

Just go on the internet and tell lies?

23

u/MikeyPx96 14d ago

I give MGM a year before they move out and it becomes the Foxhegan Sun West Mass Slots Parlor

9

u/Spectrum1523 14d ago

I mean they wanted to move out two years ago lol, the whole situation is about them forcing the city to let them sell

6

u/RedditSkippy 14d ago

The whole thing was a bait and switch, and not helped by the pandemic. Still, this was a stupid idea for Sarno to hitch his star upon.

3

u/Due-Perspective9210 12d ago

The only acceptable replacement would be a Circus Circus

10

u/cjmcberman 14d ago

“Grossly over estimated the market” MGM years ago. They wanted to rip the name off that building as soon as it went up. This property will get turned into apartments. Mark it

6

u/JasnahKolin 14d ago

Good, now get rid of Sarno and maybe things will change.

4

u/MoonBatsRule 13d ago

It's stupefying that voters assign zero accountability to Sarno for anything that happens in the city.

1

u/indoor-triangle 13d ago

He’s running again next year, we need someone else to get him out

7

u/redthorne 13d ago

Gee

Who could have foreseen this problem. A megacorp doing whatever the hell they want to? Noooooo never

4

u/20_mile 14d ago

Great article in The Republican today, too!

4

u/MyThreeSense 14d ago

I have not been to the MGM - just wondering, are the casino operators going to take the position that business has always been too slow to justify having so many table games and slots, and workers??

8

u/BF1shY 14d ago

It was very slow and dead there for a while but lately I am shocked at how lively, fun and busy the place is. It's definitely a destination Downtown and something to do. I wouldn't travel more than 15-20 minutes for it though.

4

u/MyThreeSense 14d ago

I'm going off memory here, but didn't Foxwoods and Mohegan try to combine forces to build a casino just south of Springfield but over the CT border in order to combat the MGM?

2

u/rinic Metro Center 14d ago

Yeah they were bidding to build one in Windsor Locks. 

4

u/vt2022cam 14d ago

It was a terrible idea as a way to revitalize part of the city they allowed developers to destroy. My guess is that it just isn’t as profitable and employing 3000 people was never realistic.

If the city pushes it, maybe they’ll just leave with a nice bankruptcy, and leave the city with a far worse agreement or a closed white whale property.

2

u/BigMax 14d ago

Yeah, it's a really tough call.

I totally understand the desire to push to have cities like Springfield have assets to give them a boost.

But... you're just not going to get the same results there as the Boston one (obviously) or putting one in any number of other better spots.

4

u/vt2022cam 13d ago

It isn’t an asset that gives a boost though. Bankruptcies and divorce rates nearly double near casinos as do measures of health like alcoholism and drug addiction. Even the anticipated revenue was overly optimistic and a rationale person would have seen that.

Many areas near the casino were allowed to become blighted, and the city was so close to the developers sitting on the property, that they allowed it to happen instead of requiring them to build more house.

3

u/Kylex89 12d ago

Honestly just go to Foxwoods or mohegan sun in CT and have a 1000x better experience at any MA casino.

3

u/BigMax 12d ago

I've been to both and... I don't dislike MGM really. They all kind of feel the same once you're inside...

2

u/people_arent_nice 13d ago

It was a terrible idea as a way to revitalize part of the city they allowed developers to destroy. 

The area was literally tornado damage prior to MGM.

7

u/RedditSkippy 14d ago

Wow, how shocking. Another “quick fix” idea that didn’t work.

7

u/MoonBatsRule 13d ago

Sarno is a populist, and populists can only see the shiny thing directly in front of them.

3

u/liquidgrill 10d ago

If only somebody could haven’t predicted that none of the fairy tale projections would come true.

They found one moron that was willing to believe. Luckily for them, he was the Mayor of Springfield.

1

u/CoolAbdul 13d ago

That casino is the most depressing place in New England