It was eyeball-to-eyeball and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino just blinked. Threatened with the termination of Steve Wynn‘s Everett project were Boston to be deemed a host community, Menino’s administration folded like a pup tent. “Based on the new information provided at Wednesday’s public meeting, the parties have agreed to begin discussions about Boston’s status as a surrounding community to address the impacts that Wynn’s proposed gaming establishment would have on Boston and the Charlestown community,” read the writing on the white flag.
Menino’s abrupt surrender to Wynn comes as a shocker but may be a prudent bit of bet-hedging over the long run. His preferred project, Suffolk Downs enjoys but anemic voter support. If the Caesars Entertainment racino goes down at the ballot box — and Menino had already thwarted Wynn Boston — he’d have no jobs or investment to show for himself. Even if he’d agreed to negotiate an HCA, Charlestown voters could still kill Wynn’s project. This way, Menino has a two-out-of-three chance of getting that east-Massachusetts casino sitting on the border of Beantown.
Speaking of HCAs, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission decided it was OK after all to transfer Plainridge Race Course‘s agreement to Penn National Gaming forthwith. Penn has to live with terms negotiated by precursor Ourway Realty … but opponents now have fewer than five days to campaign against Penn. Whatever the terms of the prepackaged deal, I’m sure Penn can afford them.
