Friday will go down as the day Steve Wynn told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission where it could get off. In a letter to the commissioners, Wynn “said Wynn Resorts would not alter the design of their proposed 27-story hotel tower in Everett. Wynn strongly defended the proposal in a letter to the commission though representatives of Wynn told reporters that they are actually open to redesigning the tower.” This has become an 11th-hour sticking point and it looks as though Wynn has decided if he has to jump through any more hoops it’s not worth it — although his surrogates are sending mixed signals. Wynn himself wrote that “There is no doubt that a glass curtain wall allowing for floor to ceiling wall to wall glass that looks upon the Mystic River and the Boston skyline is the most attractive solution for the guest experience.”
Representatives of Mohegan Sun and Suffolk Downs also had to take heart from attacks upon Wynn’s traffic-mitigation plan by commissioners Gayle Cameron and James McHugh, who said they were “uncomfortable” with it, among other things. The commissioners took a negative view of Wynn’s plan for alleviating traffic in Sullivan Square, which has become quite a causus belli in these meetings. “I’m troubled by the fact they are simply putting money on the table and saying somebody else solve the problem,” said McHugh.
While it was willing to increase its commitment toward long-term mitigation, Wynn Resorts balked at “fines of $20,000 per vehicle for casino traffic through Sullivan Square exceeding certain targets, as an incentive for the developer to encourage patrons to use public transportation.” Wrote El Steve, “The notion that we should be penalized with added mitigation involving untold fines if we are successful and more people come to the facility, presents an impossible business risk.”
I can’t argue with the man. It must be a considerable frustration to score higher than Mohegan Sun in three of five categories — including project overview — and yet be the underdog because you didn’t make a clean sweep.
Mohegan Sun improved its come-from-behind odds but committing another $100 million in equity to a financing package which had been almost entirely predicated on debt, the project cost larded with interest payments. They also promised to extend their marketing reach to Maine, having been criticized for being too reliant in their business plan on the Boston locals market.
* Mississippi has one casino less, Margaritaville Casino having closed last night. Laudably, employees will be paid through the end of the week. Victim of a poor location and the lack of a hotel, the isolated little casino went gently into that good night.
* Penn National Gaming is bringing legitimized gambling to the greater Youngstown, Ohio, area with VLTs at Mahoning Valley Race Course. However, the area has quite a colorful history of illegal gambling. There was a durable numbers racket called “the bug” that only paid winners 60% of their jackpot. Then there was the gambling den known as the Jungle Inn, where a gun turret overlooked the gaming floor. Another gunman was secreted in the count room. So lucrative was the joint that the government was able to cover its court costs out of the confiscated coins. Other gambling dens ranged from candy stores to two-story homes. Mahoning Valley Race Course may seem very pedestrian by comparison.
