The proposal for a casino in Millbury is dead after residents voiced strong opposition to the plan.
Rush Street Gaming affiliate Mass Gaming & Entertainment (MGE) pulled the proposal before a scheduled referendum vote on Sept. 24.
“We spent a lot of time in Millbury and recently it became clear to us that a majority of residents do not support a casino,” Neil Bluhm, MGE chairman, said in a statement.
The $200 million Millbury casino proposal included a building between 100,000 and 115,000 square feet housing 1,250 slot machines, along with multiple food and beverage venues like a full service restaurant, a bar and grill and a casino bar. MGE expected the project to create approximately 400 permanent casino jobs and hundreds of constructions jobs.
It was unclear whether MGE would pursue a casino license in another Massachusetts municipality.
“As we continued our outreach, we decided that for this particular project, we should move forward only if community support was overwhelming,” Bluhm continued. “It is not our style to campaign aggressively and win a referendum narrowly. We prefer to join together with our host community and build something collaboratively.”