MGM met its goal of 3,000 employees for only a brief time when it first opened in August 2018. Today, there are empty storefronts across the street from the casino. “People specifically voted for stuff and that is my concern that those things the voters in the city voted on are not being met,” Williams said. He said in order to win local approvals and obtain a state license, MGM hyped the casino as an economic engine that would spread the wealth downtown and generate great new employment opportunities. “There are some promises that were made that I think we could do a better job of keeping the promise,” said Democratic State Rep. These are the critiques voiced this week by some local officials. Restaurants open only on weekends, retailers that appear to have permanently closed, a prominent building on the casino campus still surrounded by scaffolding and concrete barriers, and a workforce that is at roughly half the pre-pandemic headcount. Some officials in Springfield, Massachusetts are questioning if the MGM casino is failing to keep the lofty promises made when it secured a gambling license.
