After receiving its regulatory approvals from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission two days earlier, the $960 million MGM Springfield integrated casino resort reportedly opened its doors to players on Friday morning.

Procession through downtown:

According to reports from The Republican and The Boston Globe newspapers, the inauguration ceremony began with a procession through downtown Springfield that featured the Budweiser Clydesdale horses, a marching band, performance artists and a host of local celebrities and politicians. This was followed by thousands of people eager to enter the five-story structure in order to enjoy its mixture of dining, shopping, gambling and entertainment.

Local benefits:

A project of MGM Resorts International, the 14.5-acre venue broke ground three years and five months ago and will now employ some 3,000 people with approximately 35% of these being Springfield residents. The Massachusetts city also received a $15 million upfront payment from the Las Vegas-headquartered operator and is expected to benefit to the tune of around $25 million a year.

Opening was ‘pretty magical’:

Michael Mathis, President for MGM Springfield, reportedly described the opening as ‘perfect’ and ‘pretty magical’ before declaring that he was ‘elated.’

Mathis to The Republican…

“I’ve got an active imagination but I never saw a day like this; beautiful weather and the city’s never looked better. And the community came out to support us and they’re going to go inside and enjoy this facility.”

Patient pair first to be invited inside:

A pair of people who had been waiting outside MGM Springfield since five o’clock Friday morning were reportedly the first to be invited inside six hours later before being followed by thousands of others eager to experience the venue’s 125,000 sq ft gambling floor complete with 2,550 slots and 120 gaming tables.

Mathis to The Republican…

“One woman got down on her knees and literally thanked us for the investment and for bringing some excitement to downtown. And our employees, they’ve been looking forward to welcoming their community into this facility for the last two months. It’s really a special, special day.”

Crowd featured ‘a lot of happy faces’:

Although he refused to estimate the exact size of the opening day crowd, Saverio Mancini, a spokesperson for MGM Springfield, reportedly proclaimed that other similarly-sized casinos welcome approximately 15,000 visitors on an average day.

Mancini to The Republican…

“It was a great opening day. It was a great crowd. Busy throughout the evening. People were excited, energized. I saw a lot of happy faces.”

Continued interest expected:

Moving forward and Seth Stratton, Vice-President and General Manager for MGM Springfield, reportedly stated that he is expecting the opening weekend to feature a volume of visitors the likes of which have ‘probably never been seen before.’

Echoing these sentiments, Mancini affirmed that the property was ‘still busy’ on Saturday and is likely to become even more popular after its seven-screen Regal Cinema opens next month.

Mancini to The Republican…

“We have Stevie Wonder performing on September 1 and that’s the grand opening show at the MassMutual center. There are still tickets for sale for that.”