With the specter of voters defeating casino gambling banished from Massachusetts, the state Gaming Commission last week finalized the licenses for Wynn Resorts in the Boston metro gaming zone along the Mystic River in Everett and the MGM Grand in the Western zone’s Springfield.
Both bidders essentially secured the licenses many weeks ago, but the actual awarding of the licenses had been postponed due to the uncertainty posed by the November 4 election.
Wynn responded by paying the first $85 million payment to the state. This grants Wynn a 15-year license. MGM will follow suit on November 17 with its 3,000 slot machine casino and 250-room hotel, according to MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis. Work began on the $800 million Springfield project on November 5, according to Mathis.
MGM and Wynn plan to break ground early next year and to open by 2017. Penn National Gaming, which was granted its license earlier this year and is halfway through construction of its $225 Plainridge Park slots parlor in Plainville, plans to open next year with 1,250 machines.
An Experiment in Moderation
Plainridge may be the site of an experiment that, if successful, might inspire other casinos in Ohio, and then other states. The slots parlor has received the go ahead from the commission to implement a program that will reward patrons for adopting a loss limit and sticking to it.
If patrons adopt such a program and don’t veer from it, then can earn loyalty points.
The casino will also host a kiosk of counselors trained in dealing with gambling addiction who will talk to patrons who exhibit symptoms of problem, such as applying to borrow money from the casino.
According to gambling expert Howard Shaffer of Harvard, “What happens here could have ramifications around the world. The eyes of the casino industry are on Massachusetts right now.”
Many casino operators fear that the next step in such a path is to require casinos to adopt such policies. Penn National, MGM and Wynn all plan to appear before the commission to oppose such a mandatory program.
Southeastern Deadline Delayed
Besides awarding the licenses the board also voted to once again delay the deadline for submitting a proposal for the southeastern gaming zone from December 1 to February 1, 2015. The commission would like to award a license by August of next year.
Although the license was opened to commercial bidders last year, the fact that the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe could eventually be allowed to put 150 acres into trust in Taunton for a $500 million casino resort has made most commercial interests skittish. Towns that have been floated as possible rival sites include New Bedford, Bridgewater and Fall River.
In addition, the panel kept alive the possibility of horseracing returning to Suffolk Downs and Brockton Fairgrounds by approving one-day, placeholder racing licenses for those two locations. A consortium that includes horsemen and horse owners is trying to breathe live into Suffolk Downs, which official held its last race a few weeks ago.
Mayor Forced to Negotiate
With hopes dead that the voters of the Bay State would rescue Boston from a casino on its back step in Everett, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh is being forced to digest a considerable ration of crow and to begin to back away from his promises to fight until the bitter end.
Last week following the results of the election the mayor said he is ready to sit down with Wynn to talk about improvements to the Boston roads that will serve the casino resort.
Walsh told reporters, “We have a lot of outstanding questions that we have to figure out when it comes to traffic, and I think they have their own questions with the land over there and some of the environmental issues around the land.” He added, “As far as Boston goes, I’m going to talk about Sullivan Square, Rutherford Ave., benefits for the people of Charlestown. The people of Charlestown are going to be the most impacted by this casino, so I’m going to go back to work now and see what I can do.”
The greatest impact from the casino will be felt in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood, which voted overwhelmingly to oppose gaming, at the same time that the state did just the opposite. The casino project could generate as much as 31,000 new trips per day.
A few days before the election Wynn and Walsh had a face-to-face meeting in which the gaming tycoon reportedly told the mayor, “You can work with me, I’m a person you can work with.” Walsh said he planned to take Wynn at his word.
Besides dealing with Boston’s traffic ills, Wynn has the major headache of having to clean up many decades of environmental contamination left behind on the 30-acre site of the former Monsanto chemical factory, including such toxins as arsenic and lead. Nearly 60 years ago the plant was notorious for its acid leaks, including sulfur mist. Old time residents describe the former factory, known for its smokestacks belching black smoke into the air as “a filthy black hole.”
A century before that the tidal marshes of the area were known for their rich harvest of oysters and other shellfish. Monsanto purchased the property in 1929.
The clean up is expected to take several months and will involve dredging the river and getting rid of the toxic wastes.
The cost to clean it up will be at least $30 million. But in the context of a $1.6 billion casino resort it may be a relative blip on the radar.
Wynn must also deal with the commission’s requirement that he submit a different design for the 27-story, 500-room hotel that will accompany the casino that will have 3,200 slots, 160 gaming tables, nightclubs, dining, retail shopping and convention space.
Chairman Staying Put
It’s not typical for a gaming commission chairman to be controversial, but Stephen Crosby, chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has been known for unfortunate comments and faux pas that have brought down accusations of ethical lapses since Governor Deval Patrick appointed him to his seven year term two and a half years ago. One of those potential lapses led to him recusing himself from any decision-making regarding the Boston metro license.
Nevertheless, with a new governor, Charlie Baker taking office in January, Crosby says he has no plans to step down. Crosby has worked for both Democratic and Republican governors in their cabinets and as chief of staff, and is the founding dean of the University of Massachusetts, Boston’s McCormick Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies.
Crosby was asked if he cared whether the voters repealed the gaming expansion law and said, “Believe it or not, we were not invested in the outcome. Obviously some of our employees were a little bit anxious.” He said the commission would make a special effort to “be attentive,” to the 40 percent who voted for repeal.
He added, “Our position is if you’re going to have casino gambling, and the public has said we are, if you’re going to have it, we want it to be done as well as it can possibly be done. We want to maximize the benefits and minimize the negative consequences. People said, ’60-40, do it,’ all right, our job now is to get it done as well as we can possibly get it done.”
