MGM officially awarded Massachusetts gaming license

Massachusetts gaming regulators officially awarded MGM Resorts International a gaming license Thursday to develop an $800 million hotel-casino complex in Springfield.

The process was been put hold until a ballot question that sought to repeal the state’s casino law was decided. On Tuesday, Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly rejected the referendum.

MGM Resorts was originally awarded the license in June. The company will now pay its $85 million licensing fee to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Nov. 17 and is expected to begin work on the project in downtown Springfield.

MGM Resorts Chairman Jim Murren called the Massachusetts licensing quest “a long and challenging process.”

The MGM project is one of four casino developments approved by state lawmakers and the governor in 2011. The development in Springfield will be the only hotel-casino in Western Massachusetts.

Wynn Resorts, Limited was awarded a license in September for the Boston area.

Penn National Gaming, Inc. is construction a slot machine-only casino at the Plainridge Racecourse.