The newly composed, five member Massachusetts Gaming Commission convened for its inaugural meeting on April 10, 2012. The good news – the Commission selected experienced gaming consultants to assist it in developing a plan for staffing, budgeting and administration of casino gaming in Massachusetts. The bad news – the Gaming Commission does not expect to award the casino licenses until 2014 at the earliest. That means no operating casinos in Massachusetts for three to five years. Massachusetts’s gaming law gives the Gaming Commission the power to permit up to three full resort casinos, one each in the Greater Boston area (Region A: Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex, Norfolk and Worcester counties); southeastern Massachusetts (Region B: Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, Nantucket and Dukes counties); and western Massachusetts (Region C: Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin and Berkshire counties). Continue reading “The Massachusetts Gaming Commission Holds its First Meeting”