Wynn Resorts last week released long-anticipated new designs for its planned .6 billion casino resort in Everett, Massachusetts. The same week the casino developer that Wynn beat for the Boston metro license, the Mohegan Sun, joined in a lawsuit to overturn the award.
The new design by Wynn includes bronze glass towers almost identical to those in Wynn’s signature resorts in Las Vegas and Macau.
Although the Massachusetts Gaming Commission awarded the license for the Boston metro gaming zone to Wynn, it required that he submit a new design for the casino tower, which commissioners considered too generic.
The tower will have the same 24 stories, but will be wider
Recently Wynn told business leaders that he envisioned the new design as reviving the “grand hotels,” of a bygone era, with the largest hotel rooms outside of Las Vegas.
Wynn’s casino will have 600 hotel rooms, instead of the 500 originally planned, 3,000 square feet of meeting space, retail, dining, 3,000 slots and 150 gaming tables. The original nightclub Wynn had planned has been replaced by convention space.
Wynn Senior Vice President of Development Robert DeSalvio commented, “This is a style we really like. It’s a signature Wynn look…We think it really complements the landscape well.”
Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby praised the new design. “This is a vast improvement over the design before,” he said. “It will be incredibly visible. It’s striking…Something exciting and to be proud of.”
The hotel lobby in the new plan will have two large indoor gardens of about 2,000 square feet with large flower sculptures of a Ferris wheel and carousel. The lobby will also have a huge sculpture of the cartoon character Popeye.
The Mohegan Sun, whose proposal for a casino resort in Revere was passed over by the commission in favor of Wynn, has joined a lawsuit by the city of Boston, Revere and others to try to overturn that decision.
The Sun, according to Mitchell Etess, chief executive officer of the tribal gaming authority, has never before challenged the award of a casino license, but felt that this decision was “gravely flawed.”
He told an interviewer, “We were the most injured party. Yeah, this was bad for Revere and for those workers losing their jobs. But we were really not treated fairly at the end of the day and it was time for us to stand up for ourselves.”
The lawsuit charges that Wynn was given preferential treatment by the commission and failed to require that Wynn meet about a dozens conditions mandated by the gaming expansion law.
As part of Boston’s war against the Wynn casino City Councilor Salvatore LaMattina last week urged Mayor Martin J. Walsh to delay issuing roadwork permits until the city’s lawsuit challenging the Everett license is adjudicated. This could create expensive delays to the project.
LaMattina, whose district includes the Charlestown neighborhood, told the Boston Herald, “If I was the mayor, I would not allow my Public Improvements Commission to review or approve plans that Wynn is submitting until the courts have made a decision on the city of Boston lawsuit.” He added, “Charlestown is going to be the most impacted neighborhood, and they never had a seat at the table.”
Wynn has applied for a single permit to do the roadwork at Charlestown’s Sullivan Square that it is required by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to make.
According to a spokesman for Wynn, “We plan to submit our application to the Public Improvements Commission for Sullivan Square roadway improvements in February, as scheduled. The city’s lawsuit does not change our project’s plans or timeline.”
Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria blasted LaMattina: “If the councilor wants to blindly obstruct a project that could bring millions of dollars in benefits to his constituents in Charlestown, that’s his choice,” he declared. “Wynn Everett will open responsibly, on time and with the support of the city of Everett.”
Elaine Driscoll, spokesman for the gaming commission, said the commission would continue to urge all of the parties involved to move forward and deal with challenges associated with them expeditiously.
One irony associated with the Wynn casino is that the supporters in Everett are forced to deal as supplicants to former Chelsea City Manager Jay Ash, a member of new Governor Charlie Baker’s cabinet as Secretary of Housing and Economic Development. As city manger Ash fiercely opposed the Wynn proposal and backed the Mohegan Sun’s proposal for Revere. Wynn did not initially name Chelsea as a “surrounding community” for its casino, which meant that the city would have been unable to get mitigation funds from Wynn, as other communities had done. Eventually Wynn relented, but the two sides were forced into arbitration when they hit an impasse in negotiations. Wynn’s offer to pay $300,000 was upheld by the arbitrator.
Ash did his best to downplay the former adversarial relationship when the Boston Herald interviewed him. “I butted heads with them, but I’ve always been in support of expanded gambling in Massachusetts,” said the secretary. “I thought Suffolk Downs was the place that it should be, but this is not inconsistent at all with where I’ve been. And now, as incoming secretary of the commonwealth, anyone who wants to spend $1.8 billion or more is a group that I want to get know.”
For its part Wynn says it’s comfortable working with Ash. Wynn spokesman Michael Weaver commented last week, “We are looking forward to working with him and believe he will be helpful and supportive as we move forward to create jobs and generate incremental tax revenue for the commonwealth.”
MGM Springfield
MGM announced last week that Springfield native Seth Stratton has been named to serve as vice president and general counsel for the $800 million casino. He will be in charge of legal affairs and government relations.
MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis commented in a statement, “At MGM, we feel fortunate that he is not only a respected lawyer but also cares deeply about the future of this area and the City of Springfield. His advice is always informed by his concern for local issues. I am thrilled he will be with us to provide his valuable counsel during the next important phases of this project, and beyond.”
MGM Springfield’s environmental impact report has been approved by the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the company is close to locking down land purchases it needs to assemble the 14.5 acres that will encompass the casino and resort.
In a separate by related development newly sworn Attorney General Maura Healey promised to submit recommended gaming regulations to the commission over the next few months. One suggestion she made is to set a limit on how much players can withdraw from an ATM on casino premises.
Meanwhile the proposed ordinance that would prevent elected city officials as well as appointed city officials from working for the MGM casino for three years after they live office moved forward in the city council.
A committee of the council voted to recommend that the original proposal, which would have imposed a five-year waiting period, be changed to three years. Council President Michael Fenton, who had wanted the five-year ban, agreed to the compromise.
When he proposed the ban, Fenton said, “I want to take any appearance of unfair play off the table by codifying stringent rules.”
Council member Timothy Rooke has called the proposal a “headline grabber.”
The full city council will consider the ordinance next month.
Protecting the State Lottery
Newly sworn Treasurer Deborah Goldberg announced last week that she intends to protect the state lottery from being destroyed by the state’s four casinos.
She told a reporter of the News Service, “They’re number one in the country. Under me, they’re going to continue to be number one.” She added, “I’m very driven by the passion of knowing literally decisions are made on whether you can plow sidewalks in your community when there’s a lot of snow because of those dollars that come in.”
She also promises to keep the lottery’s advertising budget at current levels and protect it from budget cuts in order to preserve the lottery’s competitiveness.
