Reactions continue to roll in on the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s decision to give the license for the Boston Metro zone to Wynn’s .6 billion Everett casino resort proposal over the Mohegan Sun’s .1 billion proposal.
In Charlestown, the East Boston community that stands to get the most traffic from the project, officials continued to emphasize the concerns they have about these, and what they feel is a failure by Wynn to address them.
Mayor Martin Walsh doesn’t mince words. He calls the traffic mitigations that Wynn has proposed, “unacceptable.”
Last week after the commission’s decision he said in a statement, “The city is evaluating the gambling commission’s decision, and all of the conditions imposed on the issuance of this license. Serious questions remain around Sullivan Square and Rutherford Ave, and other impacts in Charlestown, as well as other neighborhoods in the City of Boston. Everything is on the table at this point, and we have never closed the door to engaging in discussions with Wynn.”
Representative Dan Ryan, whose district includes Charlestown said, “I am carefully reviewing what has transpired in the past few days to ensure that Charlestown and Chelsea are given the necessary protections from such a development.”
He added, “I still have some questions and concerns regarding a viable traffic plan, the MEPA process and other required mitigation. I hope these concerns can be answered swiftly and thoroughly. I assume with a November repeal vote looming the winning applicant will be more than willing to put their best foot forward as this process enters the next phase.”
Local politicians such as City Councilor Sal LaMattina and Charlestown Neighborhood Council Chairman Tom Cunha said they intended to put Wynn’s feet to the fires on addressing local concerns.
Cunha added, “I’m very disappointed because I feel there were a lot of concerns and issues that fell on deaf ears. I will now spend my efforts to get a repeal group going in Charlestown.” But if the repeal effort fails, Cunha called on Wynn to “reach out” to the area for its ideas on how to best mitigate traffic concerns.
In the town of Chelsea, disappointment was nearly palpable since they had negotiated a lucrative $27 million mitigation agreement with the Mohegan tribe for its proposal in Revere.
City Manager Jay Ash declared, “I’m very disappointed with the decision, as I believed Mohegan Sun to have a superior proposal and a better appreciation of the impact their casino could have in the region,” but told the Chelsea Record he intended to do everything he could try to “recapture as much of those lost potential proceeds as possible.”
City Council President Matt Frank said he hadn’t seen the same attitude to negotiate on the part of Wynn. “I do not believe the settlement we were granted is enough to mitigate the issues the city will face, let alone benefit from it. Considering that more than half of their neighboring communities have had issues with Wynn, I am honestly a little shocked that the Commission granted the license to them.”
Wynn is being gracious in victory, claiming that the first thought he had when he was awarded the license was, was the effect on the Mohegan Sun. “We’re going to take their best customers. It was a tough day for them; they needed this deal very badly.” When the decision was announced he turned to his wife and said, “I “Oooh, Mohegan Sun, tough day.’ ”
Moody’s Investor Service agrees with that assessment. After the decision was announced, one of the service’s analysts, Steve Foley, wrote that it, “heightens our concerns” about the tribe’s ability to refinance its debt. The tribe’s prospects “would have improved materially” if it had won the license. This increases pressure on the tribe to make its other initiatives work, such as its pursuit of a casino license in Pennsylvania.
There has been some speculation that the Mohegans might try a third time in the Bay State, this time in the Southeastern zone, which would bring it head to head with the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, which wants to build in Taunton.
The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority has not said it was interested in another try, but it does have until December to submit a proposal. If it did, it would also be competing with KG Urban Enterprises and Foxwoods Resort Casino in New Bedford
In his first visit to Boston since winning the license, Wynn shared some details of the new casino design that he is submitting after the commission put a thumbs down on his first one. “It’s a sexy high-rise,” he told reporters. He promised that it would be, “The first real grand hotel built in decades,” adding that the design will “look like a slinky version of Las Vegas.”
He also promised to “make friends” with Mayor Walsh. “I’ve got to be his guy. We’re spending a billion-six here—if it’s a nickel, it’s a billion-six. I’m his best incoming businessman, this company, and I can’t function without him. It has got to be a relationship that’s constructive and positive. And why not?”
He also conceded that the commission was right about his original design.
“The judge was right,” he said. “I’m giving everyone on the commission a chance to give their opinions, since we are partners.”
The Mohegans were not quite as conciliatory as Wynn. The company called the award process unfair and complained that Wynn had been given more opportunities to address perceived deficiencies in his project than they were.
State law does not offer any method of appeal to the commission’s decisions.
Casino Referendum
The pro-casino forces in Massachusetts seeking to defeat Question 3, which would repeal the 2011 gaming expansion law, are rolling out the big guns and the big expenditures, and don’t seem to be running out of money.
The same can’t be said of Repeal the Casino Deal, which, although it has been spending considerable funds, also seems to be running up a large debt.
The Repeal forces are working against a head wind, as polls show that a growing percentage of the electorate supports retaining the current law.
The Coalition to Protect Massachusetts Jobs, who wants casinos to go forward, spent, $702,000 in the first half of September, a ramp up from the $577,074 that it spent from July, when it opened its doors, to the end of August.
The Coalition is funded mainly by Penn National Gaming, which is already building a slots parlor in Plainville, and MGM Resorts International, which won the license to build an $800 million casino resort in Springfield.
Repeal spent $50,000 during the first two weeks of September, but only raised $36,000 ($25,000 from one donor) bringing its reserves down to $10,675.
The Coalition, on the other hand, ended the middle of September with $506,429, after receiving $14,100 in in-kind donations from MGM and $4,441 in in-kind donations from Penn. All of this allowed the Coalition to buy almost $190,000 in TV advertising time and to spend $90,000 producing the commercials with GMMB Inc., a media company that helped Barack Obama get elected in 2008 and 2012. It also spent more than $100,000 on consultants and campaign advisers during the same period.
The first TV commercial will feature a Springfield Chamber of Commerce official talking about the city’s high unemployment and its need for the 3,000 jobs the casino will provide.
Steve Wynn hasn’t yet committed to spending money on fighting the repeal. “We have always said that it is up to the citizens of Massachusetts to make that decision come November,” said Robert DeSalvio, a senior vice president for Wynn on the day when his company finalized the license decision with the commission. “Whether or not we get involved at a later date, we really haven’t come to that conclusion.”
It is, as the Repeal group has always said it would be, a David vs. Goliath contest in terms of money raised and spent.
However, David never had to worry about racking up debt and at this point Repeal is $440,000 in debt with $11,000 in cash reserves. Part of the problem is that Repeal had to spend so much money on the road to getting Question 3 on the ballot, and successfully defending it in the courts from Attorney General (and current candidate for governor) Martha Coakley. Legal services accounts for more than $120,000 of the debt and over $107,000 for the signature drive.
Repeal spokesman David Guarino put a positive spin on the group’s financial situation last when he said, “While we always knew we would be out-spent by the deep-pocketed casino bosses who wrote two checks to fund the first $1.7 million their campaign, we are encouraged by the steady growth in support for stopping the casino mess.” He stressed that the repeal forces are relying on a grassroots effort and strong ground game.
Repeal campaign officials have invited the CEOs of the three casinos, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate Majority Leader Stanley Rosenberg to participate in a series of debates on gaming in the state before the election.
John Ribeiro, chairman of Repeal added, “We look forward to presenting our side to Massachusetts voters and trust the casino bosses won’t shy away from standing up for their industry and join us to debate the true costs and supposed benefits of casino gambling,”
The Committee to Protect Mass Jobs looked ready to take up the challenge. Its spokesman Justine Griffin said, “We know that the more people hear about the jobs and economic development that casino gaming brings, the stronger the support there is for a ‘no’ vote on the repeal question.”
Meanwhile, a poll released last week by SocialSphere Inc. showed that about 36 percent of likely voters want to repeal the 2011 law with 55 percent wanting to keep the existing laws. Nine percent were undecided.
According to the Boston Globe report, “The poll numbers suggests a shift from a Globe poll in late August, in which casino supporters held a narrower lead, 51 percent to 42 percent.”
Saving Thoroughbred Racing
Following closely upon its decision awarding the license to Wynn, the commission said it wants to try to keep that decision from forcing the closing of Suffolk Downs. Suffolk Downs partnered with the Mohegans in their proposal for a casino resort in Revere.
Acting Commission Chairman Commission Chairman James McHugh told a local radio station that the commission realized that its decision put an obligation on the panel to try to help the racetrack. “They’re good people, it’s a good industry, and we’re going to figure out what we can do to help and assist all of them,” he said.
Suffolk Downs has been pressuring the panel by issuing press releases on the track’s immanent closing and noting the thousands of jobs that will be lost as a result. Although the track itself employs 200 people, there are many professions and jobs that are part of the industry.
The commission’s spokesman, Elaine Driscoll, said, “The commission and its racing division are fully committed to an extensive and sustained exploration of every available option that may preserve the long tradition of thoroughbred racing in the Commonwealth.”
Chip Tuttle, chief executive officer for Suffolk Downs, was not encouraged. “This is one of those cases where the Gaming Commission’s actions speak louder than their words,” he said in a statement. “For the family of workers here, this feels like empty posturing. The Commission’s actions Tuesday made clear how little value they place on these jobs and these people. That message, while unfortunate, has been received loud and clear by the hundreds of decent hardworking people here now facing unemployment and uncertainty.”
The track announced last week that its final day of racing will be October 4, a week beyond its originally scheduled season. Simulcasts will be offered until December. This will give workers an extra week and provide a celebration of the 79-year-old facility’s history.
Anthony Spadea, president of the New England Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, hopes that the commission will be able to do something.
“It was a great, great part of the sports tradition we had here,” he told the Associated Press. “Now, there’s so much competition for the entertainment dollar.”
Christopher Scherf, executive vice president of the Thoroughbred Racing Association, added, “Losing Suffolk is kind of like wiping out a region. You’ll lose a good portion of the New England and Boston bettors. They’ll leave the sport and become slots players, poker players or fantasy football players. That’s not good for the industry as a whole, especially when you’re looking around the country at how we survive.”
Although the workers at Suffolk Downs may be in bad shape, the owners could be in the catbird seat since the 160 acres on which the racetrack sits is the largest open parcel in the Boston area. Now the property could be the site of one of the largest developments in the city’s history.
