One big name – Wynn – is missing from the forces mobilizing to fight a ballot question that would outlaw casinos and a slots parlor in Massachusetts.
Wynn Enterprises did not help fund the attorneys who are arguing before the Supreme Judicial Court to keep the question off the ballot and the company is saying it won’t jump into the referendum campaign if the measure does make it on to the ballot in November.
The absence of Wynn, particularly if the company wins the Greater Boston casino license and the question makes it on to the ballot, could change the dynamics of the referendum campaign. The conventional wisdom is that pro-casino interests, led by the casinos themselves, would spend heavily in a referendum campaign. Without Wynn involved, the spending gap between pro- and anti-casino interests would narrow.
Three casino companies – Mohegan Sun, MGM, and Penn National – are funding the current legal work. Officials say Wynn was invited to participate but declined.
Steve Wynn, the president of Wynn Enterprises, told CommonWealth earlier this year that he would be disappointed if a referendum question made it on to the ballot in Massachusetts but he wouldn’t get involved in the political fight. “When states have ballot measures, my take on this, after having had this job for 40-odd years, is that it’s inappropriate for us to work it,” he said.
Michael Weaver, a spokesman for Wynn, confirmed the company would not get involved in a referendum fight. “It is up to a community to determine not only if it wants to expand gaming to include casinos, but also by what method such a determination is made. Historically, Wynn Resorts has not been involved in campaigns to advocate the expansion of gaming,” Weaver said in a statement.
John Ribeiro, chairman of the Repeal the Casino Deal campaign, issued a statement saying his group faces an uphill fight against deep-pocketed casino owners. “But if Steve Wynn or any other owner wants to wait on the sidelines and let the people decide without their big money influence, we say bravo,” he said.