Leominster

With the pot containing the state's lone slots parlor license, three competitors pitched their geographic desirability, ability to fund and quickly construct a facility and their past performance before the state's gaming commission Monday.

The slots parlor proposals for Leominster and two other communities in Massachusetts will go to a public hearing today before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which will decide which of the three will get the state's sole slots license.

By a comfortable margin of 61 to 39 percent, Leominster voters Tuesday approved plans for a slots parlor in the city.

Central Massachusetts is leading the state when it comes to adding new jobs, according to the latest figures released by the state.

With just days before Leominster voters cast ballots that will decide whether plans for a proposed slots parlor can go forward, two impact studies released by city officials conclude that a gambling facility would benefit the city.

Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville announced a business arrangement Tuesday that track officials hope will revive its bid for a slot parlor license.

The $200-million slots parlor that a Baltimore-based developer is hoping to bring to Leominster took a step forward Wednesday as the city's Zoning Board of Appeals approved a special permit for the project.

The Four Points Hotel by Sheraton in Leominster has traded hands and will convert to a Double Tree, the hotel's general manager, Suzanne Farias, said Wednesday.

Working capital loans are still available to businesses and nonprofit organizations impacted by the fire that destroyed the historic Columbia Hotel in downtown Leominster on Nov. 24, but the deadline for applications is Sept. 12, the U.S. Small Business Administration said.

The odds of Central Massachusetts becoming home to the state's only slots parlor improved Monday after the state gaming commission ruled the developers for the proposed site in Plainville as unqualified.