Wynn Responds to MGC Win: What's Your Take?

It was a landmark day on Tuesday for the push for a casino in the Boston area.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Tuesday afternoon issued a 3-1 vote in favor of awarding Wynn Resorts a Greater Boston region (Region A) casino license over a proposal to build a casino by Mohegan Sun.

Wynn’s proposal aims to build a $1.6 billion resort-style, five-star casino in Everett that would feature more than 500 rooms, high-end retail and dining, ballroom and meeting space. The casino would sit on 30 acres along the Mystic River, and about 60 percent of the casino’s estimated traffic would come by way of Sullivan Square in Charlestown.

The MGC panel voted 3-1 in favor of Wynn Tuesday, with Commissioners Enrique Zuniga and Bruce Stebbins expressed preference for Wynn, citing capital investments and finances, respectively, while Gayle Cameron offered a “slight” preference for Wynn, citing higher salaries and marketing strategy. Commissioner James McHugh, however, stated that he favored the Mohegan Sun proposal and that “both proposals are very strong and equivalent in many respects.”

On Wednesday, the MGC officially voted via roll call to unanimously designate Wynn as the award winner for the coveted Greater Boston (Region A) gaming license.

Wynn Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn issued the following lengthy statement late Tuesday in response to the MGC’s decision:

“Having participated in this process for two years, we are mindful of the energy and dedication that the Mohegan Sun group brought to the effort. Considering the suspense that attended today’s decision and the high quality of Mohegan’s performance, we understand their disappointment. We nonetheless want to congratulate them on having done a fine job in making their case and we wish them well.

We’d like to thank the Commission for the thoughtful and exhaustive energy that they have put into the process and we look forward to successfully navigating the program as it goes forward. We are mindful of Judge McHugh’s concerns and grateful for the confidence expressed by Commissioners Cameron, Zuniga and Stebbins, and we’ll do our best to ensure that Judge McHugh’s worst fears are not realized.

We believe that a great deal of the resistance and energy that we experienced in some surrounding communities, and especially with Boston, was directly related to the fact that this was a competition. We expect that now that a decision has been made, everybody will find it much easier to relate to one another, get on with the job of creating jobs and building a better life for the citizens of Everett and the surrounding communities in the Greater Boston area. There is, after all, the potential for enormous benefits made available by this legislation. It would be unreasonable to expect that all of the parties involved will fail to reach for, and accelerate, the realization of those benefits.”

Your Thoughts

The proposed Wynn casino has thus far caused debate among Charlestown residents and officials, with the MGC previously deeming Las Vegas-based Wynn Resorts “suitable” to obtain a casino license in eastern Massachusetts. Last week, Charlestown residents gathered to rally in Sullivan Square to oppose the Wynn proposal, according to the Charlestown Patriot-Bridge.

And now, we’re wondering how residents in Charlestown feel about the move. Have thoughts on the matter? Weigh in with your feelings in the comments section below!