PALMER, MA (WSHM) -
The casino talk has shifted to Springfield in recent weeks, but officials in Palmer say their proposal would provide the best casino for the area.
Palmer and Mohegan Sun were the first to get a casino approved by their town on the ballot, but while they are ahead in that regard, MGM is the only casino operator to have submitted the $400,000 non refundable fee to the state's gaming commission.
"Mohegan Sun needs to step up and pay that fee," said Town Council member Paul Burns. "They need to put all that issue to bed. I think that's probably their biggest mistake so far."
Burns says although Springfield has certainly stolen the hype on the casino front in recent days, Palmer's Mohegan Sun proposal is still the best in the region.
"Springfield's kind of the flavor of the day," said Burns. "There's a new proposal out with MGM, there'll be another one soon with Penn National etc. But you know they get the initial flash, but the fact of the matter is Palmer has been in this game for a long time."
Burns says the Western Mass casino should be in a rural area.
"If Springfield were to be chosen, you'd have a Boston casino, a Taunton casino - all urban sites," Burns said. "It would detract from the money that's coming back from the states. People are going to want at least one rural casino, and that's Palmer."
Mohegan is proposing a $600 million casino on 150 square miles of property off of route 32 in Palmer. Their rural casino is quite different from the four urban casinos being proposed in Springfield.
MGM, Ameristar, Penn National Gaming and Hard Rock International have all expressed interest in the City of Homes. Monday the mayor and other top executives met with the four operators and laid out a timetable, which would put a casino on the ballot in Springfield sometime in the spring of 2013.
"Unlike any other community in this region, Palmer has already approved casino gaming, and I imagine when it goes before our voters, they'll approve it again," Burns said.
There can only be one casino in Western Mass. The state's gaming commission will decide which proposal gets the bid.
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