Operator News
US – Wynn gets voters’ nod in Everett
By Phil - 24 June 2013
Wynn Resorts proposal to build a US$1.2bn hotel on an old factory site along the Mystic River in Everett has won the approval of local voters who have backed Las Vegas casino developer Steve Wynn’s blueprint to bring a casino to their city.
City Clerk Michael Matarazzo, said that the first referendum since the state passed its gaming legislation, got the ‘yes’ vote by about 87 per cent of the 6,000 people who voted.
The measure they were voting for would see Wynn an upfront fee of $30m followed by more than $25m in annual payments. Wynn’s proposal to develop along the Mystic River, once the site of the Monsanto Chemical plant, will now be submitted to the state Gaming Commission. It will have to battle it out for the lone casino license in the eastern region against proposals by Suffolk Downs in East Boston and Foxwoods in Milford.
Wynn’s hotel is expected to have between 300 and 500 rooms, along with upscale shops, restaurants and a spa and a casino. Mr. Wynn said: “It’s going to be the fanciest hotel in the Boston area. It will have superior rooms, first-class services, shows. It will have short hallways and fast elevators. It’s going to be a big attraction. You have to create a place where people will want to go. If they gamble, they’ll find their way to the gaming tables. If this license is decided on merits, why wouldn’t I win? I would hope they would look at our track record, history of employment. Our financial profile is pretty much flawless.”
