Wynn Casino Everett News
Wynn Resorts is following through on its promise to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to redesign the Wynn casino resort planned for Everett. Several commissioners were highly critical of the original design for the .6 billion resort.
EVERETT - Las Vegas gambling mogul Steve Wynn returned to Massachusetts on Wednesday to visit a new potential site for a casino. Landowner Jeopardizes Wynn Everett Casino Bid. Posted on: April 15, 2014, 05:30h. Last updated on: April 14, 2014, 09:13h. But after accruing tens of millions of dollars in fines, changing the name of the $2.6B Everett casino from Wynn Boston Harbor to Encore Boston Harbor and briefly considering a sale of the. Welcome to Encore Boston Harbor Resort. Luxury hotel rooms & suites, fine dining, casino, event center, shopping.
The casino giant provided its first status report on the project since winning the license to build its 27-story casino and hotel tower.
Wynn also began holding public meetings to obtain input on its cleanup plan for the polluted 30-acre site of the former Monsanto chemical plant. The facility will overlook the Mystic River across the river from the Charlestown district of Boston.
Wynn officials told a group of more than 100 people at Tufts University that they planned to meet the “highest standards” set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Currently the estimate for clean up is at least $30 million, according to Robert DeSalvio.
“The company commitment is that we’ll get the job done,” he said. “We have a very significant task ahead of us, getting this site cleaned up and ready for development.”
Among Wynn’s plan for the facility is an esplanade along the river, a public park and a winter garden. It also plans to ferry visitors to the facility with boats and restore nearby sale marshes. One proposal that Wynn had floated is no longer viable: using oysters to help clean the river. The authorities refused to allow this since there was no way to prevent people from harvesting and eating the unsafe oysters.
Monsanto was only the latest chemical producer to use the land. It was used by several chemical companies dating back to 1868.
Two methods of clean up will be used: mixing cement with the polluted soil to permanently render it inert and to remove and dispose of contaminated soil. Wynn estimates the clean up will take up to four months to complete.
Last week two gaming commissioners, James McHugh and Gayle Cameron, met with some residents of Charlestown, to answer their questions about the Everett casino and the process. State Rep. Dan Ryan set up the meeting.
Ryan told the crowd, “Like it or not that may be the reality. I’m going to get to know you folks a whole lot more because I intend to see this thing through if that’s where it’s going right until the end. I live one mile from there. There is no elected official in the commonwealth that lives closer to a proposed casino than I do.”
The commissioners were well aware that they were addressing a mainly hostile gathering. According to the Patriot-Bridge, McHugh told the group, “I understand that some of you, perhaps many of you in the room are unalterably opposed to gambling,” said McHugh. “I also understand that some of you though not unalterably opposed to gambling are unalterably opposed to gambling here because of its potential impact on the community.” He said he didn’t expect to change those views, but wanted to explain the mitigation part of the license award and to answer questions.”
The presentation noted that Wynn will be paying $76 million in traffic mitigation to Boston and will be required to improve Sullivan Square regardless of price. McHugh noted that the commission as a condition for awarding the license increased the mitigation amount from $46 million to $76 million.
He added that Wynn would have to pay $20,000 per year for each vehicle trip above a certain level on peak traffic periods.
More said that all of the incentives and penalties could add up to $50 million for a long-term solution to Sullivan Square.
Cameron added that despite the fact that Boston has not yet reached a mitigation agreement with Wynn, and despite its refusal to participate in arbitration with Wynn, that the commission still encourages it to reach such an agreement with the developer. He also noted that any transportation plan Wynn comes up with must have the blessings of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Everett’s Wynn casino project faces scrutiny after casino mogul Steve Wynn stepped down from his position on the Republican National Committee amid sexual misconduct allegations.
A Wall Street Journal report on Friday detailed dozens of stories from Wynn Reports employees who say Wynn himself “sexualized his workplace and pressured workers to perform sex acts.”
Though Wynn responded to the allegations saying, “The idea that I ever assaulted any woman is preposterous,” he resigned as finance chair of the Republican National Committee on Saturday, according to Politico.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission also announced following the allegations a review into Wynn Resorts to determine whether Wynn’s alleged behavior violates his company’s gaming license.
Wynn Everett Casino News
“The Commission is now aware of and is taking very seriously the troubling allegations detailed in the Wall Street Journal article,” a spokesperson for the gaming commission said in a statement. “The suitability and integrity of our gaming licensees is of the utmost importance, and ensuring that suitability is an active and ongoing process.”
“Consequently,” the statement continued, “the MGC’s Investigations and Enforcement Bureau will conduct a regulatory review of this matter to determine the appropriate next steps.”
Gov. Charlie Baker thinks the investigation is the right move, saying, according to CBS, “I look forward to what they glean from this investigation.”
“The reports and the allegations associated with Steve Wynn were appalling,” Baker added on Sunday, CBS reported. “I’m really glad the Republican National Committee stepped back and he stepped down.”
Wynn Casino Everett News
The Everett Wynn casino is slated to open June 2019. Everett City Councilor Michael McLaughlin weighed in on the situation Sunday night as well, saying in a statement that the allegations were “deeply concerning” to him both as a city councilor and also because he was a vocal supporter of the Wynn Everett project.
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While he does believe the company should be investigated, McLaughlin also said the project should move forward.
“Since the beginning, my support for Wynn in Everett stemmed from the job opportunities, economic growth, and development of the unusable contaminated land, all of which would positively impact our community and region for years to come,” he said. “I do not believe the thousands of people who this project will positively impact should be punished for one individual’s alleged behavior.”
Wynn Casino Everett Mass News
“That being said, it is important we take these allegations seriously and allow the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to conduct a thorough investigation,” he added. “It is my highest priory that anyone living or working in our community is never subject to sexual harassment, under any circumstances. I have full faith in the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to come forward with an appropriate resolution which will not hinder the progress of the project but will simultaneously show zero tolerance for sexual misconduct in any capacity.”