SPRINGFIELD – A Wall Street analyst asked MGM Resorts International CEO and President William Hornbuckle this week about creating value by “monetizing assets,” that is selling locations like MGM Springfield.
Hornbuckle’s answer to Stephen Grambling of Morgan Stanley was not “no.”
MGM Resorts International president and chief executive officer William Hornbuckle and Springfield mayor Domenic J. Sarno during the press conference at the mayor’s office Friday morning, Jan. 20, 2023. (Hoang ‘Leon’ Nguyen / The Republican)
“And then Stephen, remember, I suspect you do that Northfield Park and Springfield are ongoing discussions,” Hornbuckle said. “So those are assets that we’ve been talking about for a while.”
Hornbuckle’s leaving the door open follows more than a year of speculation about the possible sale of the casino.
In March 2024, Bloomberg reported that MGM Resorts International is “exploring” the sale both of Springfield and of its casino in Northfield Park, Ohio. Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg said MGM is working with finance advisers, but talks were preliminary.
Any sale would require the approval of both the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and the city of Springfield.
Hornbuckle was one of the executives who helped bring MGM to Springfield just as the state legalized casino gambling. The $970 million casino opened in August 2018 with mixed results.
The casino had more than 1,500 employees at the start of the year, according to the most recent filing with its regulators. That’s well short of the 3,000 jobs MGM promised to create as it was lobbying for its license and also short of the revised, post pandemic, informal expectation of about 2,000 jobs.
In January 2023 Springfield officials concerned about the pace of reopening after COVID restrictions asked Honbuckle to meet in City Hall.
Following that closed-door session, he offered a matter-of-fact assessment to reporters.
“Our original valuation of this market simply was off — full stop,” Hornbuckle said. “We are where we are now.”
He also said that if the market conditions in Springfield were fully understood at the time, the casino might not have been built.
“We thought there would be more business here than ultimately materialized,” Hornbuckle said in that January 2023 meeting. “Scale, scope, etcetera. It is what it is.”
After the Bloomberg report in March 2024, Hornbuckle came back to Springfield to meet once again with city officials.
After that April 2024 meeting, Mayor Domenic J. Sarno reiterated that Springfield has the power to say yes or no to new ownership.
“My number one priority is to protect the taxpayers of the city of Springfield. It is imperative that every aspect of our Host Community Agreement (HCA) is met and adhered to and that Springfield will receive every dollar it is owed in accordance with the HCA.”
A view of slot machines at the MGM Springfield casino. (Don Treeger / The Republican) 8/9/2023
Friday, Springfield Chief Development Officer Timothy T. Sheehan said the city has not heard form Hornbuckle in months.
MGM spokespeople said there was nothing new to report following Hornbuckle’s April 2024 visit.
As for MGM Resorts earnings, MGM reported earnings of 69 cents per share in the most recent quarter compared with 74 cents a share for the same time period last year.
At regional operations like MGM Springfield, net was $900 million in for this most recent quarter compared to $909 million for the same time last year, a decrease of 1%, that MGM blamed on a drop in casino revenue and to weather.
Hornbuckle talked at length about how the company is using its casinos — including regional properties — and its loyalty program to leverage consumer loyalty for its online sports book.
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