Caesars Entertainment Files Lawsuit Against Massachusetts Gaming Commission ChairmanLawsuit Claims "Tortious Interference" With Caesars Massachusetts Casino Plans |
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In late October, Caesars Entertainment announced that it was no longer pursuing their partnership with Suffolk Downs Racetrack to bring a casino to the Boston area after the Massachusetts Gaming Commission expressed concerns about one of Caesars’ subsidiaries.
Caesars, which denied any wrongdoing, has now filed a lawsuit against MGC Chairman Stephen Crosby, whom they believe is playing favorites with the casino license. According to the lawsuit, Crobsy failed to disclose a friendship and business relationship with Paul Lohnes, a part-owner of land for a potential casino operated by Wynn Resorts.
Ironically, Wynn has considered backing out of their $1.3 billion project in Everett, Massachusetts because the company reportedly finds the regulatory process in the state unjustifiably strict.
At the time of their withdrawal from the Massachusetts casino license bid, Caesars CEO Gary Loveman criticized the commission for their state investigators’ findings in a suitability hearing.
“It’s going to be very difficult for sophisticated, multi-jurisdictional operators to tolerate the environment this commission has created,” Loveman said.
The lawsuit claims that Crosby has caused both “reputational and economic injury” and that he “deprived plaintiffs of their due process and equal protection rights and tortiously interfered with plantiffs’ relationship with Suffolk Downs and right to fair consideration in the gaming suitability process.”
Since the competition for licenses in the state started in 2012, casino giants such as Ameristar, Hard Rock, Penn National Gaming and Mohegan Sun have all given up on Las Vegas-style gaming projects.
MGM Resorts International is still hoping the MGC finds them suitable for a license in Springfield, though a 500-page report by investigators found issues with the company’s dealings in Macau, among other concerns.
Massachusetts passed a gaming act in 2011 that would allow for three regional casinos and one slot parlor. The MGC hopes to issue their first license by late February, 2014.
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