Rolling the Dice

Coverage of casino licensing and the gambling referendum

Mohegan Sun rebuts Boston host status

Says Suffolk Downs lease not a partnership

By Bruce Mohl Municipal Government 0 Comments Apr 24, 2014

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(...)

Walsh asserts casino double standard

Mohegan Sun, Suffolk Downs profit sharing?

By Bruce Mohl and Paul McMorrow Municipal Government 0 Comments Apr 18, 2014

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and a group opposed to casinos suggested on Friday that the proposed Mohegan Sun gambling facility is so intertwined with the Suffolk Downs race track straddling East Boston and Revere that residents of both communities should be allowed to decide whether the project should go forward or not. That’s exactly what(...)

Spring 2014

Spring 2014 Editor’s note

Casino questions

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

the massachusetts gaming Commission has a tough choice to make in awarding the Greater Boston casino license. The two finalists, Mohegan Sun and Wynn Resorts, are both strong companies, pledging to create 4,000 jobs and pump more than $1 billion into their projects. Yet, as our Conversation package with the leaders of the two companies(...)

Spring 2014

We’re a better player (Full Transcript)

CEO Mitchell Etess says Mohegan Sun is better than the Las Vegas legend

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

What follows is the complete transcript of a discussion with Mitchell Etess, the chief executive officer of Mohegan Sun, on March 11, 2014. CommonWealth: Steve Wynn says you have a conflict of interest owning a casino in Massachusetts that would be 111 miles away from your casino in Connecticut? You will pay a 25 percent(...)

Spring 2014

We’re a better player

CEO Mitchell Etess says Mohegan Sun is better than the Las Vegas legend

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

commonwealth: Steve Wynn says you have an inherent conflict of interest owning a casino in Massachusetts that would be 111 miles away from your casino in Connecticut, in part because the tax rate on table games in Massachusetts is 25 percent and zero in Connecticut. mitchell etess: He thinks if he keeps saying things they(...)

Spring 2014

Don’t bet against me (Full Transcript)

Steve Wynn puts his cards on the table

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

What follows is a transcript of an unedited interview with Steve Wynn of Wynn Enterprises on March 5 at his villa in Las Vegas. For the edited version, click here. WYNN: What’s on your mind? What’s of interest to the magazine about this show they’re running in Massachusetts about having a casino in Boston? Do(...)

Spring 2014

Don’t bet against me

Steve Wynn puts his cards on the table

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Apr 15, 2014

Steve Wynn, in his Las Vegas villa, in front of Picasso’s The Sailor and a Giacometti sculpture. steve wynn is giving an art tour inside his villa, which is located inside his Las Vegas hotel and offers a panoramic view of the 18th hole of his lush golf course, complete with a waterfall. His two(...)

New poll contradicts earlier casino survey

Finds support for gambling establishments is strong

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Apr 14, 2014

Two recent Massachusetts polls on casino gambling produced very different results, but the difference may have more to do with the population being surveyed than any actual change in attitude. A new telephone poll conducted by the Western New England University Polling Institute indicates that 59 percent of Massachusetts adults support establishing casinos in Massachusetts(...)

State seeks more data on Revere casino impact

Mohegan Sun insists project timetable intact

By Bruce Mohl Energy 0 Comments Apr 1, 2014

State officials are ordering Mohegan Sun to provide more information on the environmental impact of its proposed casino in Revere, but casino officials insist preparation of the new report will not delay the project’s permitting and construction timetable. Mohegan Sun took over the Suffolk Downs casino proposal last year after the earlier operator, Caesar’s Entertainment,(...)

Plainville and racing get the nod

By Bruce Mohl 0 Comments Feb 28, 2014

A divided Massachusetts Gaming Commission, won over by the possibility of simultaneously creating new gambling jobs and preserving existing jobs at the Plainridge harness racing track, approved a slots parlor for Plainville. Three commission members backed the Penn National Gaming proposal for Plainville and two, including chairman Stephen Crosby, supported the Cordish Cos. project in Leominster.(...)