Final casino proposals due to city on Thursday

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - A major casino deadline in Springfield is set for Thursday, as MGM and Penn National Gaming will have to hand-in their final, detailed proposals. 

Workers at MGM Springfield were busy Wednesday, preparing 18 boxes to deliver to the city, containing their proposal. Each box weighs about 45 pounds, and contains binders with about 700 pages of documents. The proposal contained in the boxes will be very specific, including floor plans and construction drawings.

“It's very comprehensive. It's detailed, it represents many months of on-the-ground conversations with the community,” said Michael Mathis MGM’s Vice President of Gaming Development.

“We're very confident that as high as the expectations should be for a package like this, that we're going to exceed them.”

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno will decide by January 25 if the City will negotiate with both casino developers, or just one of them.