A clerical error led to Wynn Resorts being the subject of a move by the city of Everett to seize 3.4 acres that Wynn purchased last year for its .7 billion casino resort.
The error involved a $168 property tax bill that was sent by mistake to the former owners of the property. The city has recognized its error and sent the bill to Wynn, which has paid the bill.
Mayor Carlo DeMaria told the Boston Herald, “Wynn Resorts has regularly made its quarterly tax payments on the Charlton Street property that it purchased approximately one year ago. There was a delay in updating the owner of record. As a result tax bills were sent to the previous owner. We regret any distress this has caused Wynn. The problem has been rectified and taxes are currently up to date.”
Meanwhile, four employees of Suffolk Downs racetrack, who sued to overturn the licensing of the casino because they claim the gaming commission violated the state’s opening meeting law when it made the decision, have appealed the dismissing of their claim.
The attorney for the group wants to depose individual commissioners about their closed-door discussions before the September 2014 that awarded the license.
The action comes just two weeks after Attorney General Maura Healey released the opinion that the commission has violated the opening meeting law multiple times during its four-year history, mainly through holding closed-door lunch meetings.
The Boston Herald recently uncovered the fact that the commission held more than 100 hours of such meetings.
Plainridge Park
Meanwhile, Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby wrote in a blog post last week in the commission’s website that the Plainridge Park Casino has the commission’s confidence despite less than predicted profits since it opened.
He wrote that the casino is “a long term play,” and said it is too early to form a judgment as to whether it is a success or failure. He added, “It will be many years before we will be able to truly assess the economic outcomes of the Commonwealth’s decision to authorize expanded gaming.”
The casino opened robustly in June but has seen its revenues fall since then. In November it made $11.9 million, less by $1 million than the month before and $6 million less than its June opening.
Crosby wrote that by 2018, “Massachusetts will have seen an investment of at least $3.4 billion in its casino industry—Plainridge accounts for $250 million of that investment.”
