Global Gaming Business has revealed that Wynn Resorts was so desperate to exit Everett it even held talks with Boston Red Sox owner John Henry to bail it out from the megaresort. Even if the Massachusetts Gaming 
Commission approved that arrangement (a long shot), the City of Everett has made it clear that it intends to hold Wynn Resorts to its word. Now CEO Matt Maddox has to go ahead with next month’s opening having badly damaged relations with Encore Boston Harbor‘s host community. Chalk it up as yet another Maddox blunder. Meanwhile, Maddox’s waffling about the Encore opening date has given way to a reaffirmation of June 23 by President Robert Salvio. He’s even set the time of day: 10 a.m. Three days of tests will preface the actual opening.
At a MGC hearing in which extended hours of liquor sales were approved, Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein alluded to the manifold birth pangs of Encore Boston Harbor when she said, “Despite the many challenges to bring this massive and complex project to fruition, the fact remains that Massachusetts and the City of Everett is home to a nearly-
complete, world-class $2.6 billion development that has dramatically transformed the waterfront; a land that was previously dormant, desolate and contaminated, which upon issuance of a certificate of operation, will soon be a place of employment for more than 5,000 people.” Meanwhile, Howard Jay Klein calls MGM Springfield “an even worse idea than when it was conceived” and floats the idea of a sale to, believe or not, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods. The MGC wouldn’t be too thrilled with that—nor would Springfield.
* Vici Properties has closed its purchase of Greektown Casino, meaning exit Dan Gilbert stage left. Enter operator/lessee Penn National Gaming, which will presumably try to get Greektown out of its perpetual third place in the Detroit standings.
* Resorts World Las Vegas has a face: Scott Sibella has been named president of the megaresort. He’s no stranger to the Strip, having run MGM Grand, The Mirage and Treasure Island before being pushed out as a part of a cost-cutting move. Sibella’s ascendancy at Resorts World makes us more optimistic about its chances. Good move, Genting.
* A pullout by Macao‘s Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau from Global Gaming Expo Asia left the exhibition under a cloud. The DICJ 
was protesting the display of products facilitating Internet gambling, which is illegal in China. GGB states that “Reports that several arrests were made at the show could not be confirmed.” That cast rather a blemish on G2E, which is usually a venue for happy talk about the gaming industry.
* You probably don’t know who Kelly Stewart is (I didn’t) but now that betting is going to be a part of TV sports coverage you will soon. Just tune into TNT‘s Bleacher Report.
* It is already a matter of public record that SugarHouse Casino used card 
decks that had an incorrect number of cards in them and that employees spent eight months (yes, eight months) ignoring warning lights on automatic-shuffler machines. It cost the casino $100,000 in fines but now two players want to take out their losses from SugarHouse’s hide. William Vespe and Anthony Mattia are suing over a combined $251,000 in losses, which they blame on the shuffler issue. It’ll probably be hard to prove but we wish them luck.
* Does tracking every piece of currency on a casino floor seem mind-boggling? JCM says ‘we have the technology.’
