January 29, 2016—Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas casino mogul, is working on a deal to build a casino near Boston. The Everett based casino proposal has the building set on the Mystic River banks. Thousands may start to stream into the proposed casino sooner than originally thought. An agreement between Steve Wynn and Martin J. Walsh, the Boston mayor, has almost turned the casino into a certainty. The proposal is for a $1.7 billion casino resort structure set to open towards the end of 2018.
There are still hurdles Wynn will need to get passed to make the casino happen. A major hurdle is a lawsuit started by Somerville. The city is trying to block the casino.
The Mayor of Somerville, Joseph Curtatone, stated, “We believe a massive casino next door to the city of Somerville would greatly impact our quality of life and healthy. What Boston does, has no bearing on what we do in Somerville.
It seemed Walsh might be an ally against the casino for Curtatone; however, Wednesday’s agreement to end Boston’s legal block against the casino changed everything. Walsh changed the block due to an exchange with the casino promising $400,000 more a year in payments. Wynn will need to pay this to the city of Boston.
Walsh pledged to drop the lawsuit, which was similar to the one Somerville filed regarding environmental reasons.
Wynn also faces the City of Revere, which lost their casino proposal to Wynn. The city has not officially dropped an appeal to reverse the decision. A new mayor has since taken office, Brian Arrigo. Arrigo has not stated what he may do regarding the appeal and legal efforts on behalf of his city.
New legal issues can always come up as the casino moves forward. For now, the challenge is to see if Wynn can get the licenses for the tables, slots, and the building permits for the structure.