© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Massachusetts Lottery Officials Look At Casino Impact

Plainridge Park, the first casino in Massachusetts, opened June 24,2015 in Plainville with capacity crowds.
NECN
Plainridge Park, the first casino in Massachusetts, opened June 24,2015 in Plainville with capacity crowds.
Plainridge Park, the first casino in Massachusetts, opened June 24,2015 in Plainville with capacity crowds.
Credit NECN
Plainridge Park, the first casino in Massachusetts, opened June 24,2015 in Plainville with capacity crowds.

Massachusetts Lottery officials say they are prepared for the new competition from the casino industry.

State lottery officials say they are using zip code analysis to detect any shift in sales patterns in the convenience stores, gas stations, and bars located near Plainridge Park, the state’s first casino that opened to capacity crowds on June 24. 

State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who oversees the lottery, vows the agency will compete with the casinos.

" I come from the retail business. I understand marketing, advertising, and promotion. We will be innovative and savvy and competitive, " said Goldberg.

The state lottery is on pace to make a record profit of roughly $935 million for the just concluded fiscal year.   Lottery proceeds are distributed as unrestricted local aid to cities and towns.

Copyright 2015 WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Paul Tuthill is WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief. He’s been covering news, everything from politics and government corruption to natural disasters and the arts, in western Massachusetts since 2007. Before joining WAMC, Paul was a reporter and anchor at WRKO in Boston. He was news director for more than a decade at WTAG in Worcester. Paul has won more than two dozen Associated Press Broadcast Awards. He won an Edward R. Murrow award for reporting on veterans’ healthcare for WAMC in 2011. Born and raised in western New York, Paul did his first radio reporting while he was a student at the University of Rochester.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content