Trump Eyes Massachusetts For Next Casino Venture

"Business mogul Donald Trump is scouring waterfronts, depressed mill towns, and vacant rural tracts across Massachusetts, searching for locations suitable for a lavish resort casino that he could develop under Governor Deval Patrick's proposal to legalize casino gambling.

His list of as many as a dozen sites includes undisclosed locations in the Boston area, the region that an industry source said he most desires, as well as the Holyoke Mall and a harness racing track in Plainville.

Executives from Trump's resort development arm, Trump Entertainment, have toured sites in Fall River, New Bedford, and Warren, and they met recently with the mayors of Chicopee and Holyoke, according to local officials, land owners, and an industry source. They also have had extensive discussions with Gary Piontkowski, the owner of the Plainridge Racetrack in Plainville, but no agreement was reached, said the industry source."