Casino backers touted the economic benefits a $200 million slots parlor could provide to the North Central Massachusetts region, while opponents expressed concerns about traffic and property values yesterday at a public forum in Lancaster.
Having secured host community agreements and votes of approval, the three slots parlor applicants are reaching beyond the borders of the municipalities where they hope to locate and seeking to wrap up agreements with neighbors before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission awards the lone license.
The parent company of Enterprise Bank, which has branches in three Central Massachusetts communities, saw net income grow 15 percent for its most recent quarter, and 10 percent for the first nine months of 2013.
A study announced Monday will examine the barriers to growth facing small and medium-sized manufacturers in the Montachusett region of north central Massachusetts.
Four Central Massachusetts firms have been named winners of economic impact awards, given annually by MassEcon, a nonprofit that helps promote business growth in the commonwealth.
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.