Gambling

Judge skeptical of Boston’s casino challenge

Sanders wary of overruling Gaming Commission's policy decisions

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BOSTON, REVERE, AND THE CASINO OPERATOR Mohegan Sun on Tuesday argued they should be allowed to continue their legal challenge to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission’s award of a Greater Boston casino license to Wynn Resorts, but Judge Janet Sanders seemed skeptical.

All three parties claim the process the Gaming Commission followed in awarding a license to Wynn for a $1.7 billion casino in Everett was corrupt and violated numerous laws, charges denied by the Gaming Commission. Boston , Revere, and Mohegan Sun want to pursue their claims in court, but the Gaming Commission countered that the three lawsuits were barred either by provisions of the state’s gaming law or by legal technicalities.

Thomas Frongillo, representing Boston, with Boston corporation counsel Eugene O'Flaherty behind him to the right.

Thomas Frongillo, representing Boston, with Boston corporation counsel Eugene O’Flaherty behind him to the right.

Boston’s attorney, Thomas Frongillo, argued fairly persuasively that the city’s claims shouldn’t be tossed because of legal technicalities, such as a 60-day statute of limitations on challenges. But he had a much harder time convincing Sanders that her court should start hearing challenges to decisions made by the Gaming Commission.

Frongillo said Boston believes it should have been deemed a host community to the Wynn casino because the entrance to the casino site is partly in Boston.  The Gaming Commission rejected that argument last year, saying the casino and hotel buildings will be located entirely in Everett. Frongillo said the commission adopted that position as part of a process designed to reach a “predetermined outcome.”

“We claim [the entrance road is] on the premises. It’s part of the land of the gaming establishment,” Frongillo said, noting that the casino could not survive without an entrance. “You need a way in and out. It’s like having a house without a door.”

Frongillo said Wynn’s casino will have a huge impact on the already traffic-clogged Sullivan Square in Charlestown. “We could have Schaefer Stadium redux here,” he said, referring to the name of the former football stadium in Foxborough that was known for notorious traffic jams after events.

But Sanders was wary of having her court second-guessing the decisions reached by the Gaming Commission, which typically acted after numerous public hearings. “The court should not be wading into these kinds of policy decisions,” she said, adding that deference should be given to the agency charged with interpreting the state gaming law.

David Mackey, an attorney representing the Gaming Commission, cited the gaming statute itself in urging Sanders to throw out a lawsuit brought by Mohegan Sun, which lost out to Wynn Resorts in the battle for a Greater Boston casino license. A section of the gaming statute says applicants for casino licenses “shall have no legal right or privilege to a gaming license and shall not be entitled to any further review if denied by the commission.”

Kenneth Leonetti, representing Mohegan Sun, said his client is not seeking a review of its license denial but of the process the commission followed in awarding the license to Wynn. “We had a right to expect a fair process,” he said.

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About Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

About Bruce Mohl

Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.

Revere’s attorney, James Cipoletta, said the gaming statute doesn’t bar his client from seeking redress  in the courts because the community wasn’t an applicant for a license. But Mackey noted that Revere would have been the host community to the proposed Mohegan Sun casino and its lawsuit wouldn’t have been filed if Mohegan Sun hadn’t lost its license bid. He also noted that Mohegan Sun is paying Revere’s legal bills.

Sanders seemed to agree with Mackey’s argument. “It doesn’t really make a lot of common sense,” she said of the city’s arguments.

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