Plainridge moving toward license renewal

Gaming regulators voted Thursday to accept Plainridge Park Casino's renewal application as "timely and sufficient" and plan to set a schedule next week for a public hearing, site visit and a final vote on the renewal.

As the first facility licensed under the 2011 expanded gaming law, the Plainville slots parlor's initial five-year license is the first to near expiration and require renewal. The license would have expired June 24 if not for the Gaming Commission's vote Thursday.

Loretta Lillios, deputy director and chief enforcement counsel of the commission's Investigations and Enforcement Bureau, said PPC parent company Penn National Gaming submitted all the necessary information related to the ongoing suitability of the company and its executives, and that her staff will soon be ready to go through the company's suitability at a meeting with the commission.

Construction Project Oversight Manager Joe Delaney told commissioners that Penn submitted a raft of information that is required for the renewal process and suggested the commission decide at next Wednesday's agenda-setting meeting on a schedule for a presentation on the application, a public hearing, site visit and commissioner deliberations.

The Plainridge renewal process will be underway as the commission works on a parallel track to finalize guidelines for the safe reopening of Plainridge Park Casino and the state's two resort casinos, all of which have been closed for more than three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.