Earlier this month, the Boston Globe reported that the operators of the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut had taken a move toward developing a casino in Palmer, Massachusetts, which is in west central Massachusetts about 70 miles west of Boston and 15 miles east of Springfield.
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority signed an exclusivity agreement with a developer who owns a 150 acre parcel of land near the Massachusetts Turnpike. The intention is to build a retail complex on the site that can also accommodate a casino if the Commonwealth of Massachusetts legalizes gaming.
This agreement was signed shortly before the Town of Middleborough approved a casino to be operated by the Wampanoag Tribe.
Local officials in the area surrounding Palmer have expressed concerns about the potential Mohegan North casino. The Board of Selectmen in Monson, the town immediately south of Palmer, unanimously voted to send a letter to Governor Deval Patrick asking that the casino approval process be halted until local and regional officials can be guaranteed a seat at the decisionmaking table. The Monson Selectmen also voted to form a local casino impact committee.
The Monson Board of Selectmen will be holding a forum on the Palmer Casino issue for local officials from around the region and interested members of the public. It will be at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, September 12, at the Monson Free Library, which is at 2 High Street in Monson, Massachusetts. For further information, contact Kathleen Conley Norbut, a member of the Monson Board of Selectmen, at kcnorbut@yahoo.com.
UPDATE, September 14: The Eisenthal Report has editorialized on the issue of casino gambling in Massachusetts. TER opposes the introduction of casinos to Massachusetts.
I would like to know when the casino is going to be build in Palmer. Right now I live in Washington State and I work at Tribal casino now which I love my job. I will be moving back to Mass this June and looking forward to this casino up and working because I would love to work there. This will create a lot of jobs in so many departments and nobody would ever have to worry about going home early because there is no work. A casino of any kind is always busy. People have to stop for a minute there is so much more then just gamibling, there are concerts, great food, and all sorts of intertainment. So yes, I am VERY EXCITED that there will be a casino to come home to, to work at. Just need to know when it will be being build. Thank you
Diana Wescott
Posted by: Diana Wescott | February 17, 2008 at 12:21 AM
The casino coming to Palmer, MA would boost the economy dramatically, because of the amount of job opportunities. This would allow kids in high school to work, kids coming home from college for the summer, and kids graduating from college to have a great chance at a rewarding career possibility. The people who are against this idea are still living in the past and don't want to see change. They need to get off their pedestal and except that its 2009 not 1970. In this economy, in order to survive, we have to take what we can get and run with it. Lets stop letting all the empty buildings or even large empty fields just sit there, making the town look deserted. We should jump on this HUGE opportunity, where a large corporation will come in and turns us from nothing, into a national landmark where companies will want to open. In turn, making more and more jobs. Change has to happen or just keep living under a rock, while the society passes you by.
Thank you
Posted by: Kyle Toelken | June 09, 2009 at 11:40 PM