Walsh: No going back on casino
Won’t second-guess gaming commission
Wynn Resorts may be in talks to sell the license for its soonto-open Encore Boston Harbor casino in Everett to MGM Resorts International but Mayor Martin Walsh said he isn’t ready to criticize the state’s Gaming Commission for tossing other suitors aside in favor of the controversial company.
“It’s a difficult situation,” Walsh told reporters Sunday. “They did a hearing, they hired outside people. They came back with a finding and they made a recommendation. I guess it’s easy to second guess them the next day, but I mean they had all of the facts in front of them.”
As the Herald reported Saturday, officials in Springfield and Everett have raised concerns over the bombshell news that Wynn is now in talks to potentially sell the $2.6 billion casino to MGM. Wynn Resorts was recently hit with a $35 million fine as a stipulation of receiving its gaming license after failing to disclose sexual harassment complaints against former CEO Steve Wynn.
“A sale would put at risk the benefits and amenities that Wynn Resorts will bring to the city — the 5,500 jobs on the line, taxes and revenues, and improvements for the community and in the Greater Boston area,” Everett City Councilor Mike McLaughlin told the Herald Saturday.
Under state law, a single casino operator is prohibited from owning more than one casino license in the state, leaving the future of MGM’s Springfield casino in the air.
Justin Hurst, president of the Springfield City Council, added that talks of a sale were “difficult and disheartening to hear considering it is somebody that’s been such a good partner over the last few years, has the potential to leave this city, especially one we felt so much optimism by their presence here.”
Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria, who says he’s not amused by business talks surrounding the casino, which was initially scheduled to open up in his city on June 23, gave himself veto power over any potential sale in a section of the community host agreement, according to George Regan, who spoke on his behalf.
“He’s not going to allow the city of Everett to be taken for granted,” Regan said.
Walsh pushed hard for Boston to have host community status for the casino in 2014. That request was denied by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, prompting the city to sue the gambling regulators in 2015, arguing that nearby residents in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston should have a vote on a host agreement. Despite the years-long saga surrounding the license however, Walsh says reopening it to others who were initially interested wouldn’t be “fair.”
“I don’t think you can do that,” he said. “In fairness, you have a $2 billion building built in Everett, I don’t think you can do that, that wouldn’t be fair to the people of Everett and I don’t think it would be fair to this region. I wouldn’t want to start the process all over again, absolutely not.”
The Gaming Commission has given Wynn a deadline of May 31 to pay its fine or send a notice of appeal.