The mayor of Boston, Martin J. Walsh is becoming more assertive about the two casino resorts being proposed for towns just outside of the city’s boundaries, claiming Boston has the right to designate itself as a “host city” whether or not the Massachusetts Gaming Commission thinks it is.
He is also demanding that casino environmental studies originally made for Suffolk Downs be redone to reflect the fact that all of the project will now be located in Revere.
The $1.3 billion project would be built on 42 acres owned by Suffolk Downs in Revere and would have 4,000 slots, 100 gaming tables, and two hotels totaling 500 rooms.
Last week the mayor asserted that the city has a right to hold a referendum on each casino proposal and to veto the projects being building. He made these claims in a letter sent to the commission. The city’s attorney made that same claim before the commission a few days later, following it up with a letter in which he wrote, “There is a significant preliminary legal question concerning whether the commission has jurisdiction to decide the issue of Boston’s host status,”
The commission was quick to issue a reply, stating that it has, “clear and broad authority to make the necessary decisions on all matters regarding the interpretation and implementation of the expanded gaming statute, which includes the authority to determine the physical parameters of a ‘gaming establishment.’ ”
The mayor’s office also sent a letter to the state’s Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Richard K. Sullivan asking that he require the Mohegan Sun to do a new engineering study for its $1.3 billion casino resort, instead of recycling one that was done when Caesars Entertainment proposed a casino that would have had one foot in Boston and the other in Revere.
That same week Mayor Walsh appeared before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to assert that Boston should be designated as host city to both the Mohegan Casino and the rival $1 billion Steve Wynn proposal in Everett. Both developers oppose Boston’s bid. The panel voted to consider Walsh’s claim in two weeks. If it were to grant his bid, Boston would have the power to kill either or both projects.
Walsh denies that is his intent.“I’m not looking to kill anything,” he said last week. “I’m looking for the community, the people of those communities, to decide what they want.”
The mayor did not claim that the two proposed sites are actually within the city’s boundaries, but that they would be so dependent on the city’s airport, roads, bridges and businesses that it would be the de facto host city. “The city of Boston is the crucial component, the key selling point of the proposed gaming establishments,” he said.
Some commissioners appeared frustrated at the mayor’s last minute claim and one asked why he had kept his intentions a secret. However, Walsh pointed out that he has been talking about his city’s right to be a host city ever since he was elected last fall.
In addition, the city is asking that Sullivan fold together the reviews of the Revere casino and Suffolk Downs plans to demolish its horse stables, which is supposed to be not connected with the casino project.
The city’s attorney, Elizabeth Dello Russo claims that the separating the engineering plans is a way to avoid achieving environmental review thresholds. “The secretary should require the re-filing of appropriate documentation to allow for the necessary public and agency comment as required in order to avoid, minimize and mitigate damage to the environment,” she wrote.
Mitchell Etess, the chief executive officer of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, quickly issued a statement: “Extensive research, community process and multiple studies clearly demonstrate that the project has no unmitigated measurable impacts. With that said we remain committed to working with the commission and the city of Boston to answer any questions they may have as this project moves forward.”
Further complicating matters is that the Massachusetts Historic Commission is saying that Suffolk Downs’s plans to demolish 30 wood-frame horse stables would have an “adverse effect” on the historic racetrack, “through the demolition of all or part of the property and the introduction of visual elements that are out of character with and will alter the setting of the property.” The racetrack and facilities date back to 1935 and are listed as historic landmarks in a state register.
The requirements of meeting requirements for historic buildings have caused more than one potential developer to throw up his hands and way away from a project, according to David Begelfer, CEO of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties Massachusetts, quoted by the Boston Herald.
“It certainly can slow things down considerably. Mass. Historic has not been known for keeping to tight time schedules,” he said. Requirements might include long delays in order to do studies on how to mitigate tearing down the buildings. It is not uncommon for the commission’s requirements to add a year or more to a project.
The Mohegans’ rival, Wynn, has problems of a different sort in that the site where he hopes to build was formerly a Monsanto chemical plant which requires hazardous waste cleanup of indeterminate cost and time.
The commission voted last week to designate Everett as a surrounding community to the Mohegan Sun’s, mainly based on the traffic impacts to Route 16, which bisects Everett. It rejected a similar application from Saugus that it would be impacted by the Wynn project. Several other cities filed similar applications but withdrew them after reaching satisfactory agreements with the casino developers. The towns of Medford and Somerville are still in talks with the Wynn organization, although Somerville has reached an agreement with the Mohegans for the casino to pay the city $100,000 annually.
State law directs that communities can be designated as a host community or a surrounding community. Host communities have a veto on whether a casino is built, while surrounding cities can get mitigation funds from a casino. A community designated as a surrounding community, such as Everett, has 30 days to reach an agreement before its claims are submitted to arbitration.
Everett’s mayor, Carlo de Maria Jr. commented, “We will continue to assess the true effects of a Mohegan facility on the city of Everett and encourage Mohegan Sun to begin negotiating with the city in good faith.”
Etess told the Boston Globe, “We remain prepared to discuss the flow of traffic on Route 16 as directed by the commission, as well as the significant benefits Mohegan Sun will bring to the residents and businesses of Everett.”
Also in a very public spat with the Mohegans is the town of Winthrop, hometown of House Speaker Robert DeLeo, who decided to publically call on the Mohegans to treat his town fairly after council members complained to the gaming commission.
According to a spokesman, “Speaker DeLeo believes the initial mitigation offer made by the proponents of the Suffolk Downs casino is unacceptable. He calls on Mohegan Sun to go back to the table with Winthrop.”
The councilor last week accused the casino developer of violating confidentiality when it cc’d the Speaker and other state officials and pointing out that the town had demanded $5 million annual mitigation. One councilor compared this sharing of information to spitting in the face of the town.
Etess said the email did not cross an ethical line and that his company has been able to negotiate successfully with eight other towns. He noted that Winthrop has demanded more mitigation than all of those towns put together, and that it initially demanded $16 million. The tribe has offered $745,000.
The Mohegan Sun has previously agreed to pay a total of $3.7 million to the towns of Cambridge, Chelsea, Lynn, Malden, Medford, Melrose, and Salem.
On the other hand the Mohegan Sun has reached a Live Entertainment Agreement with seven performing arts venues that are members of the Massachusetts Performing Arts Coalition (MPAC). They include members such as Lynn Auditorium and the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, the Hanover Theatre and South Shore Music Circus. The Sun also reached an agreement with the Citi Performing Arts Center and Springfield Symphony Hall.
According to Etess, “We understand the mission, cultural importance and economic value of our regional arts organizations and the Massachusetts Performing Arts Coalition, and that’s why this agreement is so critical.” He added, “Not only will Mohegan Sun Massachusetts generate new economic development and enhance tourism, but we will promote cross marketing with performing arts venues and other attractions so that the entire region can benefit from this world-class destination resort.”
Josiah Spaulding, president and CEO of Citi, called the partnership, “the first of its kind in the nation between a resort casino and a major nonprofit performing arts center. Both operators will combine their expertise in booking, operating, marketing and membership – taking performances to a new level. We are very excited.”
MPAC venues will also be part of the Sun’s loyalty program, enabling patrons to redeem loyalty points at their venues.
Meanwhile the commission on March 27 held a public hearing on the casino proposal that was attended by 200 people, including various horsemen’s supporters, including trainers, jockeys and veterinarians representing 850 existing racetrack jobs.
According to Revere Mayor Dan Rizzo, “Suffolk Downs is the last surviving Thoroughbred track in New England and it has been part of our city and our culture for almost 80 years. It would be devastating if there were no more Suffolk Downs.”
A jockey declared, “This is not just a job for me or for my fellow jockeys. It’s a part of our lives. Here at Suffolk Downs the people are not just jockeys, valets, exercise riders, hot walkers, grooms and more, they are family. This isn’t just about jobs; it’s our life’s passion. There is a lot of history here with the Hall of Fame horses and riders who have been here over the years. The history of this track is the history of each and every person who has created a life here.”
Revere officials clashed verbally with officials of nearby Winthrop, which is engaged in acrimonious negotiations with the Mohegans. Winthrop town councilor Linda Calla warned, “The increased traffic is going to be detrimental to our little town.”
Southeastern Casino Zone
Massachusetts has been divided into three casino zones, Boston metro, western and southeastern.
In Fall River, which is part of the southeastern zone, some residents fear that the proposed $750 million casino resort that Foxwoods wants to build might be too near to the local elementary school.
The casino calls for 3,000 slots, 90 gaming tables, a hotel with 300 rooms, retail shopping, and 10 taverns and restaurants.
The Alfred S. Letourneau Elementary School would be almost adjacent to the proposed site. “There a lot of kids walking down the street, and there are lots of residences in this area,” said one resident, quoted by the Herald News. “My only concerns are mainly for the kids and the homeowners.”
The worries of area residents centers around the heavy traffic expected and its impact on children walking to school. A local crossing guard observed, “The city needs the jobs, but I don’t think this is the area,” Amaral said. “It’s going to be a nightmare for the neighborhood — in the morning with bumper-to-bumper traffic — and dangerous for the children.” That traffic would be generated by customers and 2,000 employees.
The president of the local PTA, Lisa DaCosta, is of two minds on the project. “I won’t be able to decide until we’re educated 100 percent about the plan,” adding, I’m concerned about security for our school and making sure our children are safe.”
Foxwoods CEO Scott Butera, Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan and Kenneth Fiola Jr. of the Fall River Office of Economic Development held a hearing to hear public concerns last week. The meeting was well attended.
Butera talked about his company’s 22-year track record and said, “And I can say, you don’t last that long unless you run a very high-quality operation, you have a great relationship with the town that you’re in, the city that you’re in and the state you operate in. You provide great jobs, but not only do you provide great jobs, you provide great economic benefits to the people you’re around and great social benefit.”
He promised a “grand resort” that “will look like it’s been here one hundred years.”
An added inducement: more than half of the casino jobs would be set aside for Fall River residents. In addition, the city would get upfront payments and payments annually.
The mayor said he plans to have a host community agreement ready for the voters to approve in June. The gaming commission has said it plans to award a license for the southeastern zone by November of this year.
Western Casino Zone
Western Massachusetts has one bidder for its casino license, Springfield and its developer MGM Resorts International, which proposes an $800 million casino resort, but that doesn’t mean that the license has been issued yet.
So far MGM has failed to reach failed to reach surrounding community agreements with West Springfield and Longmeadow with the 30 days allotted, which means that the gaming commission will assign an arbitrator to determine how much each city will be given to mitigate effects of the casino.
MGM spokesman Carole Brennan commented, “Despite the best efforts of all parties we have not been able to reach that point. The Mass Gaming Law is a well thought out piece of legislation that planned for such a situation. We now look forward to an arbiter’s resolution, so we can move on in the licensing process.”
West Springfield Mayor Ed Sullivan said, “We had good discussions but in the end, we had to agree to disagree. Our proposals were appropriate and based on the information we had relative to the impact of the casino on West Springfield. MGM just didn’t agree with the level of mitigation we put out there. But we are comfortable with this going to arbitration.”
Longmeadow Town Manager Stephen Crane commented, “We made a good-faith effort to come to an agreement with MGM, but in the end we couldn’t get there. We feel our analysis of the impacts from the casino on our town were affirmed by the gaming commission when they granted us surrounding community status. But what MGM had offered wasn’t adequate enough for us to protect the town’s residents.”
MGM has been successful in reaching surrounding community agreements with other towns, however, including Agawam and Chicopee, which will each get annual payments of $150,000 and Ludlow, East Longmeadow and Wilbraham, which will be paid annual payments of $100,000.
Repeal the Law
With polls showing that a referendum that would repeal the 2011 gaming expansion law has at least a fair chance of succeeding, the city of Springfield joined those who would like to strange that particular baby in its crib, rather than chance that it will make the November ballot.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno and nine residents of his city filed a brief with the Supreme Judicial Court asking that the court rule the initiative unconstitutional. The court will hear the case in May.
The city’s brief argues that the state constitution does not allow statewide referendums on local issues, a section of the constitution referred to as the “local matters provision.” State Attorney General Martha Coakley has argued that the initiative is unconstitutional. She says it violates the contracts clause of the constitution. She wrote, “The proposed law is therefore inconsistent with the right to receive compensation for private property appropriated to public use and cannot be certified.”
Repeal the Casino Deal previously filed a 53 page brief defending its referendum and seeking to overturn Coakley’s ruling, which former Attorney General Scott Harshbarger, a leader of the group, called, “simply wrong.”
Casino foes point out that a state referendum previously dismantled an entire industry, that of dog racing in the state. They also argue that casino operators, including Wynn, have proposed making changes to the law.
According to spokesman David Guarino, “They open up the door, and then they change the rules when they get in to benefit their bottom line. To say that voters shouldn’t have the same right to change the law or to repeal it is disingenuous.”
Meanwhile results of a poll by MassINC Polling Group show that 43 percent don’t approve of casinos being built while 46 percent approves. This indicates falling numbers in favor of casinos compared to earlier polling, some as recent as January, when 53 percent approved and 39 percent disapproved.
Some political observers blame this on negative publicity, such as the bickering between Wynn and the Mohegan Sun and the lawsuit that Caesars filed against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby, alleging that he gave special consideration to Wynn’s proposal.
Steve Koczela, president of MassINC, commented on his company’s website last week, “There have been a lot of headlines about the underside of this issue and nothing really positive to show for it yet. No voter has gone to a concert or used a slot machine or sat down at a blackjack table yet.”
According to Kathleen Norbut of Repeal the Casino Deal, “Massachusetts voters are intelligent. The more people learn about the impacts, they learn about the nefarious casino industry. The majority will always come to the conclusion that it’s bad for communities and it’s bad for the commonwealth.”
Responsible Gaming
In a separate but related development, the American Gaming Association’s President and CEO Geoff Freeman last week criticized the gaming commission’s first draft of its “Responsible Gaming Framework.”
The commission is ignoring proven best practices, said Freeman. “The Massachusetts Gaming Commission draft recommendations seem to value anecdote and inclination over proven science,” he said. “Not only are these proposals unlikely to aid vulnerable populations, they are likely to negatively impact the playing experience of the more than 97 percent of the Americans that gamble responsibly. We hope to have the opportunity to work with the Commission to meet our shared goal of protecting those in need.”
