Plainville votes to support Penn National slots parlor

PENN NATIONAL GAMING'S plans for the Plainridge Racecourse include expanding the location to fit as many as 1,250 slot machines, according to Boston.com. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/MIKE MERGEN
PENN NATIONAL GAMING'S plans for the Plainridge Racecourse include expanding the location to fit as many as 1,250 slot machines, according to Boston.com. / BLOOMBERG FILE PHOTO/MIKE MERGEN

PLAINVILLE, Mass. – Voters in Plainville, Mass., voted Tuesday to support Penn National Gaming’s plans to open a slots parlor at the Plainridge Racecourse, Boston.com reported.

Of the 2,084 residents who turned out to vote, 76 percent, or 1,582 voters, supported the slots parlor, while 502 opposed, according to results read by Town Clerk Ellen Robertson.

The owners of Plainridge Racecourse began looking to sell the track in August, after the state gaming commission ruled the current owners unsuitable to hold a state casino license due to the practices of former President Gary T. Piontkowski, who took about $1.4 million in cash from the track’s money room over several years.

In late August, voters in Tewksbury, Mass., rejected a zoning change that would have permitted Penn National to build a 24-hour slots parlor on town land zoned for commercial/research use.

- Advertisement -

After falling short in Tewksbury, Penn National moved to buy the Plainridge Racecourse track.

If the state awards Penn National its sole slot parlor license, and if it is permitted to continue harness racing, the company would acquire the 89-acre Plainridge property at the intersection of Interstate 495 and Route 1.

The track would be expanded to fit as many as 1,250 slot machines, according to Boston.com.

No posts to display