MGM officials were grilled Thursday in Springfield by state gambling regulators, over their proposal to eliminate a 25-story glass hotel tower from their casino plan. The casino’s 250 room hotel would instead be in a six-story building. The company says it’s changing its design to save money as construction costs rise.
MGM officials say they’re trying to cut costs where they can, though they still estimate the total price tag will top $800 million. But that hasn’t stopped speculation that MGM is scaling back as a new casino is in the works in the Albany region, and another could be on the way in the Hartford area.
Speaking to the gaming commission, MGM Springfield president Michael Mathis acknowledged all that.
“But that said, we are fully committed to this design and this project,” Mathis said, clearing his throat. “What’s also unchanged is the total budget commitment.”
Mathis’ tone didn’t sound convincing to Commission Chair Steve Crosby.
So, Crosby asked, “Where is MGM and MGM Corporate on its commitment to the Springfield project?”
“Fully committed,” Mathis replied. “And I didn’t mean to be tentative in any statement about that.”
To stress the point, Mathis added he just moved his family to Springfield from Las Vegas.
Later, Crosby was asked if he was satisfied with Mathis’ answer.
“I take him at face value,” he said. “You know, I asked the question because I wanted him to look me in the eye and tell me that both he and the corporation were committed to this project. And he looked me in the eye and said they were. And I can’t do anything else but accept that at face value.”
There were also some tense moments at the meeting when commissioner Enrique Zuniga, laid into MGM officials about how they reported their design and budget changes to the commission. Ultimately, Zuniga said, he’s worried that losing the big hotel tower will diminish MGM’s ability to attract customers.
“The significant feature of this project — what you sold this commission, the city and the community, is now no longer,” Zuniga said. “And I’m worried a little bit.”
The changes, which have the support of Mayor Domenic Sarno, will still need approval from the gaming commission and the Springfield City Council. The council plans to hold an emergency meeting on the new casino design on Tuesday.