Barely 36 hours after Massachusetts voters rejected Question 3 on the ballot to repeal casinos, the state Gaming Commission moved rapidly to award previously approved but suspended casino licenses to Wynn Resorts in Everett and MGM in Springfield.
Wynn moved just as fast to wire its $85 million license fee to the state. MGM said it will make its payment by Nov. 17. Wynn senior vice president Robert DeSalvio, who will be general manager of the planned $1.6 billion resort on the banks of the Mystic River, told commissioners: "Thank you so much for placing your trust and confidence in us. We look forward to developing an amazing facility in Everett."
MGM Springfield president Michael Mathis said he had already begun preconstruction work Thursday – test borings of soil where a 3,500-car garage is to be built – and said he’s confident MGM’s $800 million complex can compete with Wynn glitz at the other end of the state when both are open in 2017.
"To bring that healthy competition to the state is exciting," Mathis said. "They're going to do a fantastic job. I know that they recognize that we'll do a fantastic job. There's enough customers in this area, and there are enough different experiences in this area, whether you’re going to Everett or coming out to Western Massachusetts."
Wynn still has to clear Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act approvals for its casino and solve nettlesome traffic problems in the already notoriously gridlocked Sullivan Square/Route 99 area. DeSalvio said Wynn plans to submit its final environmental documents by the end of the year – that’s 2 ½ months later than earlier promised – and hopes to get into construction next spring. DeSalvio also said Wynn CEO Steve Wynn met with Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh about two months ago “and they had a very good discussion’’ about addressing Walsh’s traffic concerns in the Charlestown section of Boston, across the Mystic from the planned casino site.
Gaming Commission chairman Stephen P. Crosby said he and his colleagues got a clear message from the Question 3 vote.
"Sixty percent is a landslide in most elections, but 40 percent of the people voted against it, and that means that we need to be attentive to the 40 percent of the people who would rather not have casino gambling. We're going to pay attention to their concerns. We're going to pay attention to problem gambling. We're going to pay attention to traffic. We're going to pay attention to all the other kinds of mitigation. The Legislature gave us tools to do that. We'll have lots of money to do that."
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Also Thursday, the commission voted to push back the deadline for applicants for a casino in Southeastern Massachusetts from December 1 to January 31. Crosby said commissioners were concerned that because of the uncertainty over whether the casino law would be repealed Tuesday, prospective bidders would not have enough time to get plans together ahead of a December 1 deadline. Several gambling facility operators have expressed interest in a casino in the New Bedford/Fall River area.
With videographer John J. Hammann
