WYNN RESORTS, which touts itself as an all-inclusive mecca that offers entertainment choices beyond gambling, has killed the planned nightclub at its proposed Everett casino because state alcohol laws require bars to close when patrons would be revving up for the night.
“In Las Vegas, you can keep the bars open all night,” Wynn Everett President Robert DeSalvio told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, pointing out that the most profitable times for a nightclub would be weekends after 10 or 11 at night. “Here you can’t. It limits the amount of hours that you get use of the room… We fairly quickly came to the understanding it was not in the cards.”
State alcohol laws require bars to close by 1 a.m., 2 a.m. at the latest if a special permit is granted.
In addition to eliminating the 25,000-square foot nightclub and using the space for convention meetings, a smaller lounge, and outdoor space, DeSalvio said the design of the planned $1.7 billion facility was undergoing some changes to account for potential future environmental problems such as storm surge from the Mystic River. The company is planning to raise the hotel tower about 11 feet, the equivalent of one story.
The changes also include a 25-percent increase in the number of rooms, bringing the total to 629, but a reduction in the number of parking spaces, in part to push people to use the water taxi or public transportation. While the number of off-site parking spaces will remain at 800, Wynn will reduce the number of parking spaces in its casino garage by 17 percent.
“The plan is to reduce public parking and increase reliance on public transit,” DeSalvio said, pointing out that the company is paying a subsidy to the MBTA for upgrades to service on the Orange Line.
The commissioners expressed some mild concern about over-reliance on alternate transportation, such as the water taxi in the winter, but made no mention of the Sullivan Square traffic issues that have been a huge concern to Boston officials and residents. Wynn officials were scheduled to meet with Mayor Martin Walsh, who has filed suit to stop the Wynn project, and his aides in the afternoon after the gaming commission meeting to continue trying to find common ground in their dispute. A Walsh spokeswoman did not provide details of the meeting but called it “productive.”
“Mayor Walsh is exploring all options to resolve this matter on behalf of the people of Charlestown and the City of Boston,” Bonnie McGilpin, Walsh’s press secretary, said in an email. “This includes continuing productive conversations with Wynn officials like the one today focused on the possibility of negotiating a fair and equitable solution. However, it is the City’s responsibility, and the Mayor’s top priority, to fight to protect the rights of Boston’s residents and the neighborhood of Charlestown and the City is still pursuing its legal options. “
DeSalvio said the company expects to tap a contractor after the first of the year with an aim to open the doors in the second half of 2018. There were few questions from the commissioners, with Chairman Stephen Crosby hailing the changes and the presentation.
“This was a really good presentation,” Crosby said at the conclusion. “It’s exciting to see it materialize.”
Earlier, the commission expressed concern over the license for Region C, which covers the Southeastern part of the state. Mass Gaming & Entertainment, which is seeking a license for a casino on the Brockton Fairgrounds, will make a 90-minute presentation for its case next Thursday but its efforts are complicated by a potential Taunton casino planned by the Mashpee Wampanoag.
Under a deal hammered out with then-Gov. Deval Patrick, the tribe would pay 17 percent of its revenues if it is the only casino in that region. But if a commercial license is awarded, the tribe would not pay anything. Under federal law, Native Americans can open a casino on tribal land even without state approval if the state has legalized gambling.
Crosby pointed out that Patrick and the Legislature agreed to allow up to three casinos and one slots parlor in the state and approving a commercial license would open the door for a fourth casino. During the meeting, Crosby said studies have shown the region could support two casinos, albeit with reduced revenues for both, but “nobody wants that.”
“Our consultants tell us, yes, you could have two casinos of the same size next to each other and they could coexist,” he told reporters after the meeting. “Neither would do as well than if they had the market to themselves. The tribal casino would not pay us any tax money, but that would be undesirable.”
The Mashpee Wampanoag tribe recently won recognition from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and approval to take land in trust for the casino. But Crosby said the federal rulings could be challenged in court, an uncertain process that could take years to resolve.
“Our problem is how do we respond to the uncertainty of the tribal situation and be fair to the folks of Southeastern Mass,” Crosby said “We’re just trying to weigh the imponderable.”