Massachusetts casino crowds under 25% COVID limit

Massachusetts casino crowds under 25% COVID limit

Article brief provided by MassLive
  • Jim Kinney, MassLive
January 14, 2021 9:01 PM
  • Jim Kinney, MassLive

Massachusetts three casinos — MGM Springfield, Everett’s Encore Boston Harbor and Plainridge Park — draw enough people to bump up against the state-imposed 25% capacity limit imposed last month by Gov. Charlie Baker in the face of surging COVID cases.

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Occupancy is at about 19%, said Bruce Band, assistant director of the Gaming Agents Division of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

That means the three casinos are not forced to turn anyone away, state regulators said during a meeting Tuesday of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

But occupancy numbers also show how slow business really is. The Gaming Commission releases new gross gaming revenue numbers and tax receipt data for December 2020 tomorrow.