“I would say up to getting the MGM [Springfield] job, we were cruising pretty well, but this has absolutely changed the financial fabric of our family tree,” said Springfield native Lamont Clemons, whose 33-year-old, family-owned company S-Cel-O Painting was contracted for painting services on-site during the casino’s construction.

S-Cel-O Painting’s vendor contract enabled the company to hire dozens of people in the area, including women and minorities looking to hone their skills and gain experience. The certified women and minority business enterprise subsequently landed work with Encore Boston Harbor.

“Lamont’s success story is just one of many examples of the impacts casino gaming has had on the Commonwealth, legalized with the intent of creating jobs and business opportunities for residents across Massachusetts,” said Jill Griffin, director of workforce, supplier and diversity development. “The Gaming Act set clear priorities of establishing a diverse and skilled workforce, and providing opportunities for minority, women and veteran-owned businesses. We continue to enthusiastically embrace that legislative mandate, striving to ensure maximum economic benefits and an industry reflective of the Commonwealth.”

>>RELATED: VIDEO: Gaming Vendor Spotlight – Lamont Clemons and S-Cel-O Painting

The MGC’s Office of Workforce, Supplier and Diversity Development gathered information to capture the annual impact of the casino industry on career and business opportunities for residents of the Commonwealth, with a particular focus on diverse populations.

The 2018 Casino Industry Impact Report was presented to the Commission during a public meeting on January 9, 2020.

In 2018, Plainridge Park Casino (PPC) had been operating for two years, while MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor were under construction. MGM opened its doors in August 2018 as construction at Encore continued.

The data compiled for this report was provided to the MGC by PPC, MGM and Encore, and demonstrates that both the operations and construction phases of the state’s three casinos contributed significantly to workforce and economic development opportunities for diverse residents and business owners across the Commonwealth.

Highlights include:

• Nearly 12,000 individuals employed by casino construction and operations jobs, compared to 7,000 individuals in 2017.
• Almost 9,000 of those individuals were Massachusetts residents, representing 73% of casino construction and operations employees.
• The gaming industry paid $385 million in wages, of which $299 million was paid to Massachusetts residents.
• The gaming industry spent more than $1.2 billion with Massachusetts businesses, including a $1.1 billion spend on construction and a $17.8 million spend on operations.
• The gaming industry spent $236.7 million with diverse vendors.
• The Massachusetts Gaming Commission provided more than $1 million in grants and financial support to aid organizations with workforce and economic development programming.

On a related note, the MGC issued a report in October 2019 entitled “Built To Last: Best Practices for Diversity in the Construction Industry.” The MGC commissioned the report to summarize and share the strategies and lessons learned during casino development to achieve workforce and contractor diversity. The report captures the insights and reflections from more than 30 stakeholders, including gaming licensees, construction companies, unions, worker advocacy and trade entities, community representatives, and business advocacy and certificate organizations.

About MassGaming

The mission of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is to create a fair, transparent, and participatory process for implementing the expanded gaming law passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in November 2011. In creating that process, the Commission will strive to ensure that its decision-making and regulatory systems engender the confidence of the public and participants, and that they provide the greatest possible economic development benefits and revenues to the people of the Commonwealth, reduce to the maximum extent possible the potentially negative or unintended consequences of the new legislation, and allow an appropriate return on investment for gaming providers that assures the operation of casino-resorts of the highest quality. For more information on MGC, please visit MassGaming.com or connect and share on Twitter (@MassGamingComm) or Facebook www.facebook.com/MAGamingComm.