The Massachusetts Gaming Commission is pleased to announce plans to award the state’s single slots license by Friday, February 28, 2014. The commission is rapidly approaching the completion of an intense ‘Evaluation Process’ of the applications submitted by the three slots license contenders. In keeping with the commission’s commitment to transparency, the results and findings of the months-long Evaluation Process will be made public during a series of public presentations and deliberations beginning on UPDATE: Tuesday, February 25, 2014. The commission will soon release the details on meeting locations and times.

On October 4, 2013, slot-parlor applicants (who had successfully completed the Phase 1 suitability process) were required to submit a completed Phase 2 application to the Commission. The Phase 2 application consists of 236 pages and is broken up into sections to include key evaluation criteria: 1. Overview of Project; 2. Finance; 3. Economic Development; 4. Building and Site Design; 5. Mitigation. The submitted slots applications are available for viewing here.

Chairman Steve Crosby stated, “This is truly the culmination of an incredible amount of hard work put forth by the commissioners, commission staff and the dedicated members of the five evaluation teams. As a result of our highly competitive process, the commission has had the difficult and exciting task of evaluating absolute first-rate proposals. We look forward to sharing our findings with the public and are eager to take this final step in bringing to bear the thousands of jobs and revenue benefits that await the citizens of the Commonwealth.”

The Commission has nearly completed the evaluation of Phase 2 applications from the following slots-parlor applicants:

The established ‘Evaluation Process’ for assessing and ultimately awarding  expanded gaming licenses was developed based on requirements written into the “Expanded Gaming Act” as well as criteria approved by the Commission to solicit the most competitive projects that meet the expectations provided in the final application, have a positive impact on the Massachusetts economy and enhance the state’s revenues.

A detailed explanation of the ‘Evaluation Process’ and the five key evaluation criteria is available on the commission website and can be viewed here.

Each of the five Commissioners has taken the lead on overseeing a team of advisers and industry experts to evaluate each gaming proposal based on more than 200 questions addressing the Commission’s key five evaluation categories. Each commissioner will publicly present the results of their team’s efforts to their fellow commissioners. Commissioners will then have the opportunity to ask questions regarding each of the commissioner’s presentations. The information presented will then lead to public deliberations ultimately resulting in the issuance of the Commonwealth’s sole slots license.