New England Public Radio

Land Owner: Mohegan Resorts Looks Elsewhere

Mohegan Sun appears to be looking outside of Palmer, Massachusetts  to build a casino .

Attorney Steve Spelman represents Northeast Realty which owns the land  the Palmer casino would be built on. In recent days when Spelman tried to reach the tribe about the rumors, he says he heard nothing.

That changed on Wednesday.  Spelman received a letter from Mohegan requesting that its exclusive commitment to build in Palmer be terminated, while at the same time holding on to the land. Spelman says that would block other developers from building on the site. Spelman says he wrote a letter to Mohegan saying….

“…essentially you can’t do this. And if you have been doing it it’s wrong so stop it. And if you don’t stop it we’re going to take you to court and talk to the gaming commission about it.”

This new twist falls less than a week before a scheduled recount in Palmer. Residents against building a casino won that election earlier this month by 93 votes. Attempts to reach Mohegan Resorts for this story were unsuccessful. 

Search Begins for Massachusetts Gaming Commission

Just weeks after Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a law that will allow up to three casinos into the state, state leaders are beginning the process of forming a gaming commission to oversee the emerging industry.

State officials have about four months to hand-pick a five-member gaming commission to develop and oversee the licensing process for casinos. The commission will be chaired by a gubernatorial appointee, and the attorney general and state treasurer will also each appoint one member. Treasurer Steven Grossman says he's enlisting the help of a group of financial and academic advisors to make his pick.

"The governor, the attorney general and I are looking at people with vision for running gaming and gambling in Massachusetts in a way that does not have any conflicts whatsoever, so we're looking for vision, wisdom, managerial expertise, five distinguished women and men who represent the best values of the people of this Commonwealth."

The three leaders will together decide on the two remaining members of the gaming commission. The commission must be bipartisan, with no more than three members from one political party. The state officials say they have a preference for commissioners with legal and policy experience related to gaming. There IS no guarantee they'll appoint a member from Western Massachusetts — where four major gambling companies are competing for a shot at the one license that the law allows west of Worcester. But Grossman says he hopes to receive applications from prospective commissioners all around the state. A lengthy application is available on the governor's web site.