A major casino company has completed the $16 million dollar purchase of a Springfield property it hopes to develop into western Massachusetts' sole gambling resort. Ameristar Casinos, a Nevada based company, announced today that it closed on the purchase of the 41-acre former Westinghouse site off interstate 291. The property has been vacant since 1970.
Ameristar is the third big gaming company to purchase or lease a site in the area. Two weeks ago MGM Resorts announced it agreed to purchase a site in Brimfield, and the owners of Connecticut's Mohegan Sun signed a long term lease on a site in Palmer nearly two years ago. Both sites are in rural areas, while Ameristar is staking its claim on a very urban property. Ameristar's point man for the project, Troy Stremming, says the Springfield location would encourage jobs and other economic growth right in the city.
"We truly believe that that location can act as a gateway to Springfield that will draw millions of guests into the city and help start a renaissance of development in the community that is a long time in the waiting."
Under the state's new gambling law, casino projects must be approved by local voters – while a state board can grant only one casino license in the western part of the state – with two more reserved for eastern and southern precincts. In addition to Ameristar, MGM, and Mohegan Sun, Hard Rock International, which had proposed a Holyoke casino, is now scouting for other western Massachusetts locations in the area. That's after a meeting with Holyoke's new mayor, who opposes such development. And another potential player, Penn National Gaming, has yet to name a site it might want to develop.