Wynn, Boston Finally End Bitter Casino FightDeal Worth Up To $368M Paves Way For Construction To Begin |
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An ugly public battle between Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh is over, as the city and the casino developer have inked a deal that will send up to $368 million to Boston over the next 15 years.
Wynn had previously called Walsh “obviously irresponsible” and had filed a libel lawsuit against the city for its push-back against his project, the winner of the sole casino license in the region. Boston had wanted a different group to receive state approval for a Las Vegas-style casino.
The city had filed two lawsuits to block the Everett casino, one of which was dismissed by a judge late last year. Despite Wynn’s project involving a clean-up of a former Monsanto Chemical site, Boston alleged in one of the suits that “Wynn’s project will generate severe damage to the environment.” The site is on the heavily polluted Mystic River, which Wynn will also clean.
Under the deal, the city was able to get $1 million from Wynn to help pay for its legal fees racked up while suing over Wynn’s casino. There will also be millions spent to help fix potential traffic issues resulting from the massive $1.7 billion casino-resort.
“Subject to approval by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, our agreement with Boston will unlock economic development and jobs for the entire region,” Wynn said in a statement, according to The Boston Herald.
Additionally, Wynn must put forth a “good-faith effort” to purchase $20 million in goods and services from Boston businesses every year.
Thanks to the deal, the casino could actually open its doors in 2018, which is a year later than originally estimated. Other prior setbacks to the project include the state telling Wynn that a previous design for the casino was too generic. The state wanted the Boston-area casino to resemble the company’s Las Vegas casinos.
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