MGM CEO talks about ‘ongoing discussions' on Springfield casino
SPRINGFIELD – A Wall Street analyst asked MGM Resorts International CEO and President William Hornbuckle this week about creating value by 'monetizing assets,' that is selling locations like MGM Springfield.
Hornbuckle's answer to Stephen Grambling of Morgan Stanley was not 'no.'
'And then Stephen, remember, I suspect you do that Northfield Park and Springfield are ongoing discussions,' Hornbuckle said. 'So those are assets that we've been talking about for a while.'
Hornbuckle's leaving the door open follows more than a year of speculation about the possible sale of the casino.
In March 2024, Bloomberg reported that MGM Resorts International is 'exploring' the sale both of Springfield and of its casino in Northfield Park, Ohio. Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg said MGM is working with finance advisers, but talks were preliminary.
Any sale would require the approval of both the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and the city of Springfield.
Hornbuckle was one of the executives who helped bring MGM to Springfield just as the state legalized casino gambling. The $970 million casino opened in August 2018 with mixed results.
The casino had more than 1,500 employees at the start of the year, according to the most recent filing with its regulators. That's well short of the 3,000 jobs MGM promised to create as it was lobbying for its license and also short of the revised, post pandemic, informal expectation of about 2,000 jobs.
In January 2023 Springfield officials concerned about the pace of reopening after COVID restrictions asked Honbuckle to meet in City Hall.
Following that closed-door session, he offered a matter-of-fact assessment to reporters.
'Our original valuation of this market simply was off — full stop,' Hornbuckle said. 'We are where we are now.'
He also said that if the market conditions in Springfield were fully understood at the time, the casino might not have been built.
'We thought there would be more business here than ultimately materialized,' Hornbuckle said in that January 2023 meeting. 'Scale, scope, etcetera. It is what it is.'
After the Bloomberg report in March 2024, Hornbuckle came back to Springfield to meet once again with city officials.
After that April 2024 meeting, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno reiterated that Springfield has the power to say yes or no to new ownership.
'My number one priority is to protect the taxpayers of the city of Springfield. It is imperative that every aspect of our Host Community Agreement (HCA) is met and adhered to and that Springfield will receive every dollar it is owed in accordance with the HCA.'
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