Estate in Massachusetts bought for gambling plan

MGM Grand Hotels Inc. announced it has bought a 58-acre estate in Hull, Mass. , for a $78 million gaming casino and resort, confident the state legislature will pass a controversial bill allowing the seaside community to license the establishment.

The bill now under review by state lawmakers would allow the towns of Hull, on the South Shore, and Adams, across the state in the Berkshire Hills, each to license one casino of its own. The issue has raised strong opposition and support in both towns.

An attorney representing the MGM Grand Hotels in Massachusetts defended the one-town, one-casino approach, noting the casino would be contained and geogr aphically apart from the rest of the community.