Sterling Suffolk Racecourse after being rebuffed in federal court, is taking its lawsuit against Wynn Resorts to the Suffolk Superior Court in Massachusetts.
The former owner of Suffolk Downs racetrack is arguing that it was harmed when Wynn won the casino license for the Greater Boston area in 2014—and later built the $2.6 billion Encore Boston Harbor.
There’s nothing that can be done about the license, especially since the former racetrack has been sold for development, but the company is seeking more than $1 billion in damages.
A U.S. District court dismissed the lawsuit a year ago when Sterling Suffolk sought to prove racketeering. Sterling Suffolk has appealed, but in the meantime is pursuing the same claim in state court where it filed a claim November 16. It is suing both Wynn and FBT Everett Realty LLC, which sold the Everett property that lies along the Mystic River to Wynn.
The lawsuit claims then Wynn CEO Steve Wynn and some corporate executives violated state law by withholding information from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that might have disqualified Wynn from the license. The lawsuit also claims that these actions drove a wedge between Sterling Suffolk and the Mohegan Sun, which it had partnered with to run the casino if it had obtained the license. This cost the racetrack owner more than $35 million annually.
These are essentially the charges made in the federal lawsuit.
The lawsuit bases its claims on criminal records of three people with ties to FBT Everett Realty and on Wynn’s edgy business partners in Macao. It also threw in allegations of sexual misconduct against Wynn that didn’t come to light until after the commission awarded the license.
Wynn resigned and his company eventually was fined $35 million by the MGC.
