MGM opens major casino resort in Springfield, Mass.

Seven years ago, a tornado ripped through downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, turning a big part of the hometown of Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, into rubble. This western Massachusetts town is finally able to show off its recovery with the opening of the new MGM Springfield, a 2 million-square-foot complex with gaming, restaurants, a hotel, spa, movie theater and shops. MGM is betting big on Springfield with a 125,000-square-foot casino featuring 2,550 slots, 120 table games, a high-limit room and a poker room with 23 tables. It also has brought in celebrity chefs Michael Mina and Meghan Gill, season 14 winner of Hell’s Kitchen, to run restaurants. And it’s leveraging its clout with musicians and comedians by promising to bring in big acts to the MassMutual and Symphony Hall performance venues. First up is Stevie Wonder on Sept. 1. “This has helped put us on the map,” says Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, who has been in office since 2007. “Cities such as Springfield have gone through some tough times – the economy, things changing and people going to the suburbs and rural areas. … It’s a redefining time, a re-establishment of core urban cities, and MGM has played a pivotal role in that.”