Mohegan Sun executives say they are eager to work cooperatively with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, but insist his efforts to win host community status for their proposed casino are off base.
Walsh has asserted that Boston and Revere should both be host communities for the proposed Mohegan Sun casino at Suffolk Downs, just as they were for the original casino proposal of Suffolk Downs and Caesars Entertainment.
But Mitchell Etess, the CEO of Mohegan Sun , said his company’s proposed casino is located entirely in Revere while the earlier proposal encompassed both communities, particularly in terms of future expansion. Etess and Kevin Brown, the chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council, met with CommonWealth on Wednesday.
Etess also said the lease agreement between Mohegan Sun and Suffolk Downs does not constitute a financial partnership between the two. Etess said the lease is a standard commercial lease with lease payments tied to casino revenues, meaning the payments would rise as casino revenues increase. He said the arrangement did not constitute a financial partnership, pointing out that if the casino’s landlord was based in Chicago no one would suggest that Chicago should be a host community.
Both Etess and Brown said they were puzzled by Walsh’s efforts to win host community status for Boston. Walsh supported the gambling legislation as a state representative, but many analysts believe his efforts to win host community status would, if successful, derail both the Mohegan Sun casino proposal in Everett and the proposed Wynn Resorts casino in Everett because of opposition in neighboring Boston communities.
Meet the Author
Editor, CommonWealth
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.
Brown and Etess said they have had a several positive meetings with the mayor, but none recently. “I can’t image a case where he’d want to try to derail it,” Brown said.
The proposed Mohegan Sun casino would be owned 60 percent by Brigade Capital Management of New York and 40 percent by Mohegan Sun.
SHARE
