MGM CEO Jim Murren seeks to 'revitalize' Springfield

MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren knew he wanted to build his next casino in Springfield as soon as he glimpsed the destruction caused by the 2011 tornado that tore through the city.

Months before he would unveil his plans for the casino, Mr. Murren met with Springfield businessman Paul Picknelly, whose Monarch Place office overlooked some of the devastation the tornado left behind. At the time much of the focus from casino companies centered on Boston.

“I admit, I lost all interest in Boston at that point,” Mr. Murren said. “And I thought I better see whether I can help this city.” He would eventually name MGM’s Springfield real-estate arm Blue Tarp Redevelopment, a nod to the tarps he saw covering the damage.

Mr. Murren on Thursday morning talked at length about his new $960-million casino in Springfield with Hanover Theatre CEO Troy Siebels. Mr. Murren was the keynote speaker at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Breakfast Club, a networking event held inside Mechanics Hall.

MGM Springfield, set to open Aug. 24, offers more than just gambling and entertainment, Mr. Murren said: It can revitalize the city.

The casino will employ 3,000 people – Mr. Murren said it has already sent offer letters to 2,000 potential employees – and provide annual payments of $25 million to the city and $60 million to local businesses. “I like being able to go into a community and make a difference. Boston’s doing great. I want to help Western Massachusetts,” he said.

Among Mr. Siebels’ questions for Mr. Murren was one about the casino magnate’s commitment to hiring more women for leadership positions within the company. Mr. Murren was a former equity analyst, and he said he left Wall Street in part because of a pervading “boys club” mentality.

“When I moved to Las Vegas, I thought it would be a fresh start, but what I found was an even bigger old boys club,” Mr. Murren said. “And I find that very disturbing.”

Since becoming MGM’s CEO in 2008, he said he has made diversity in hiring a priority. MGM’s 12-member board of directors now includes four women, with the latest appointment occurring in March.

Mr. Murren also weighed in on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling to allow states to legalize sports betting, which “has already dramatically increased the value of sports franchises,” he said.

“It’s going to increase fan engagement,” Mr. Murren said. Many of the MGM resorts around the country are prepared to roll out legal sports betting, he said, though he does not expect it in Massachusetts.

Unlike other resort casinos, Mr. Murren said, MGM Springfield will avoid walling itself off from the community that surrounds it.

“I have a very different philosophy about integrated resorts than my competitors,” he said. “I don’t believe an integrated resort is one where everything you need and want to do is within the boundaries of the resort. I think it should be a home base that supports small businesses and supports non-casino development and entertainment.”