In 1st Year, MGM Springfield Has Little Impact On Most Neighborhood Businesses

Entrance to the MGM casino on Main Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Nancy Eve Cohen/NEPR)

As the casino in Springfield, Massachusetts, was under construction a few years ago, several local retailers and restaurants said they got a lot of new business. But now — a year after it opened — not so much.

One hot July day, Jason and Lori Czech made their third visit to the MGM Springfield from their home in Sturbridge.

“We wouldn’t come to Springfield [for] really anything else other than the casino,” Lori Czech said.

Jason Czech said that so far, they’ve eaten mostly inside the casino.

“They got a couple of good restaurants in there,” he said. “They have good food in there. There’s a steak place, which is really expensive in there, that we won’t eat at.”

They’ve tried to eat at a well-known pizzeria next to the casino.

Read the rest of the story at NEPM’s website.