Mayor Morse to detail casino decision

HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) - The mayor of Holyoke is now changing his anti-casino stance.

Mayor Alex Morse is expected to announce at 10:00AM Monday that he will support efforts to bring a casino to Holyoke.

That's a drastic switch of positions for the Mayor, who campaigned last year against bringing a casino to the Paper City.

Talk of a casino in Holyoke is not anything new. The issue has been kicking around since 1995, when voters approved a casino question. The same was done in 2002.

In 2007, then- Mayor Michael Sullivan was in conversation with Donald Trump's representatives about turning the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside into a casino.

Once the gaming law was passed, Hard Rock International expressed their interest in building a casino on the property of Wykoff Country Club.

When opposed by the mayor, they ultimately moved on to Springfield, and now Everett, in the eastern part of the state.

Mayor Morse is expected to announce a plan to bring a casino to Mountain Park that would be run by Eric Suher, the owner of Mountain Park and Iron Horse Entertainment.

Mountain Park is located on Mt. Tom and used to be a thriving amusement park before it's decline.

"I've decided to move forward and allow the voters to vote on the proposal," said Mayor Morse on his Facebook page.

22News reached out to the Mayor for comment, but he declined to speak with us.

The deadline for casino developers to submit their proposals to the state gaming commission is January 15, which includes a $400,000 non-refundable application fee.