As payments from casinos trickle in, cities and towns finding ways to spend the money

Massachusetts cities and towns already are seeing gambling windfalls even before the first casino has opened its doors.

Fifteen communities have received roughly $5 million from the state's three licensed casino operators as part of compensation agreements negotiated with the companies. The operators are MGM, Wynn and Penn National Gaming.

Municipalities are spending the money on a range of projects.

The Boston suburb of Medford, for example, is using $250,000 from Wynn Resorts to help build a memorial to victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. The Las Vegas casino giant is developing a $1.7 billion casino in nearby Everett.

The western Massachusetts town of Longmeadow is using $850,000 from MGM to make traffic improvements to roads leading to the company's planned $800 million casino in Springfield.