In 2014, Suffolk Downs Racecourse (SSR) and partner Mohegan Sun lost the contest for a casino license in the Boston metro area to Wynn Resorts. The partners have lost again, failing to convince a federal judge that Wynn engaged in racketeering during its efforts to obtain that license.
The complaint, in which the plaintiffs sought $1 billion in damages, was filed against Wynn Resorts; some of its executives; FBT Everett Realty, the seller of the 36 acres that was formerly a Monsanto chemical factory, where the Everett casino now sits and Aaron Katz, an attorney for FBT.
One allegation claims Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria got a secret share of the casino ownership. Another said former Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby had a personal relationship with one of the former owners of the Everett property.
U.S. District Court Patti Saris threw out the case, although she said the former racetrack had provided evidence of possible wrongdoing. She suggested that SSR, which owned the racetrack until 2017, could switch its focus to a state court. She also said the evidence did not fall under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
The evidence introduced by SSR included Wynn’s dealings with the owner of the Everett land that the Encore Boston Harbor eventually opened— where it was alleged that one of the owners was a convicted felon. The lawsuit also alleged that then CEO Steve Wynn provided “false and misleading” statements about the company’s dealings with the owners of the land and about his own alleged sexual misconduct; as well as possible mob interactions in Macao, where the company has two casinos.
The judge said the case met some of the RICO guidelines, but not all—for example, it failed to deal with current and ongoing wrongdoing. The real estate company that sold the Everett property to Wynn no longer owns any part of the land. And Steve Wynn is no longer with the gaming giant.
Given that the casino is already licensed and operating, the judge concluded there is little chance it is engaged in racketeering. She didn’t buy Suffolk Sterling’s argument that RICO applied because Wynn obtained the license while his alleged sexual misconduct activities were still happening.
Saris dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice, allowing SSR to file in state court, where it can go forward with allegations of “unfair methods of competition and/or unfair and/or deceptive acts and practices.”
But the judge also ruled that Wynn could try to block these actions at the state level.
