Poker is Returning to Massachusetts, Hurricane May Cut Off Play to Online Sites in Coming Days

MGM Springfield is set to begin welcoming back poker players by the end of the year.

“We have listened to our poker players and also our previous dealers that want this back as an option at our casino, and we want to provide it to them,” said MGM Springfield Compliance Director Daniel Miller during a Massachusetts Gaming Commission meeting Thursday morning.

The commission noted last month that it had seen a tenfold increase in complaints, many of them over the lack of poker options in the state, which had been taken away during the pandemic to prevent the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, those looking to play poker online in Massachusetts come late Sunday or early Monday may be out of luck if Hurricane Henri has any say in the matter.

Henri promises to be the first hurricane to directly hit New England in nearly 30 years and that could mean millions of people between New York City and Boston without electricity and Web services.

A Hurricane Watch was issued for the region Friday morning.  The watch was issued for southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and the Islands and parts of Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island.

Should it be a direct hit, Henri is expected to be a Category 1 storm.

- Ace King, Gambling911,.com