MGM Springfield Wins One-year Delay in Casino Opening

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Gaming Commission, receptive to arguments regarding the impact of a major highway reconstruction on I-91, agreed to allow MGM Springfield to push the opening of its $800 million resort casino to September 2018. It was originally expected to open in the fall of 2017.

MGM Springfield officials said the state’s reconstruction of the I-91 viaduct through downtown Springfield — a project expected to begin this year and end by August 2018, although financial incentives to finish by 2017 are in play — must be complete before MGM Springfield can open.

The highway project includes ramp closures next to the casino site, and severe traffic congestion would keep visitors away and inconvenience those who do show up, said MGM officials, who still need the city’s approval to push back the opening date.