On June 24, 2015, Chairman Steve Crosby issued the following remarks at the official grand opening of the first gaming facility in Massachusetts, Plainridge Park Casino:

This will be said many times, but today is a momentous day in Massachusetts. As everybody knows, it took Massachusetts a long time to decide whether we wanted to have casino gambling in Massachusetts or not. When we finally did decide to do it, we wrote a very complicated, but a very sophisticated and a very smart law – to make sure that when we do have casinos in Massachusetts, that we do that right. We think we are starting off today to do that right.

Pursuant to that law, we at the Gaming Commission have had two particularly high priorities as we’ve done our work. The first is to assure that the licensing and regulatory process is, and is perceived to be, participatory, transparent, and fair. That’s been our mantra; that’s been our commitment from the very beginning of our work. And we think we’ve met that challenge, and the meeting of that challenge brought us to this operator and to this big day.

We’re very pleased to have Penn National as our first licensee and as our first operator, and we’re pleased that Penn National has bought into that same commitment of participation, of transparency, and of fairness. We take pride in the fact that you’ve shared with us in this process, and shared your commitment to those values.

Our second priority is to maximize the benefits of casino gambling – the jobs, the revenue, the economic development that the law was all about – and to keep to the barest possible minimum any unintended consequences. Again, we believe we are meeting that challenge in collaboration with Penn National.

Take a look at this beautiful facility. Take a look at 500 high-quality, permanent jobs. Take a look at the great local support they have generated. Take a look at their commitment to responsible gaming. And if you don’t know about it, you should know about their ongoing and impressive commitment to diversity in their workforce and their suppliers. This is the kind of organization that we wanted to work with, to maximize the benefits to our community, and keep to the minimum any unintended consequences.

I too, would like to thank some people, particularly our Investigations and Enforcement Bureau, many of whom are standing over there, please raise your hands, and our Commissioner Gayle Cameron, who was our designated hitter to be here for much of the last few days To work with the Investigations and Enforcement Bureau to make sure that everything was buttoned up, that everything was done right, and that we felt good issuing this license. We do feel good issuing this license, and we feel tremendous about bringing Penn National to Massachusetts.

So I’d say it’s showtime!

Chairman Steve Crosby (l) delivers remarks at grand opening of Plainridge Park Casino. Also pictured (l-r): Commissioners Gayle Cameron, Enrique Zuniga, James McHugh, Bruce Stebbins

Officials from Penn National Gaming and Plainridge Park Casino join the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to cut the ribbon and officially open the Commonwealth’s first expanded gaming facility

Pictured (l-r): Massachusetts Gaming Commissioners Enrique Zuniga, James McHugh, Bruce Stebbins, Chairman Steve Crosby, Gayle Cameron

Massachusetts Gaming Commissioners Bruce Stebbins (l) and James McHugh (r) visit the GameSense Info Center at Plainridge Park Casino