Despite several months of doom-and-gloom economic predictions from Steve Wynn, the mogul has decided to “buy American” again, not only returning to the site of previous skirmishes (Philadelphia) but also taking a second run at Massachusetts. S&G was no fan of Wynn’s decision to call it quits after being essentially voted out of Foxborough by the local stuffed-shirt brigade. To be fair to the NIMBYs, Wynn’s proposed casino-lodge would have literally been in some of their back yards. And it must have been an eye-opening experience for the mogul to realize that the Foxburghers might like to visit a Steve Wynn casino but they sure as hell didn’t want to live near one.
Initially, it looked like Wynn had taken his ball and gone home. However, the Boston area has drawn some pretty anemic competition for its one casino license. There’s the $1 billion smoke-and-mirrors proposal of Suffolk Downs owner Richard T. Fields and Caesars Entertainment (who will probably be spurred to ever-more-brash spending promises with Wynn Resorts breathing down their neck). Then there’s the barely substantive David Nunes project further out in the ‘burbs. Asked what set his project apart, Wynn replied pithily, “The developer,” and we know damn well what he meant by that. Besides, it could take Pennsylvania‘s gaming commission a full year to sort through six Philadelphia proposals — including Wynn’s — so El Steve has a bit of free time in which to contemplate other markets.
Instead of rubbing elbows with the white-collar crowd that gave him the cold shoulder in Foxborough, Wynn has set his sights upon blue-collar Everett and an in-need-of-remediation Monsanto Chemical plot that the city would dearly love to unload. (Who pays for cleanup of the site could be a sticking point; Wynn says, ‘Not me!’) Vehicular access superior to that at 
Suffolk Downs is another Wynn selling point. If Everett voters approve — and early reaction was largely favorable — and if Bay State regulator-in-chief Stephen Crosby is serious about companies’ balance sheets being an important selection criterion, Wynn should win this bid in a walk. By the same measurement, Mohegan Sun‘s pitch for a casino in Palmer ought to be a laughingstock. However, Caesars has “juice” in the form of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and House Speaker Robert DeLeo (left), who has seemingly vowed to put slot machines into Suffolk Downs if it’s the last earthly thing he does. (Wynn’s contemplated site is five miles directly west of the Downs.)
Wynn’s not the first major casino operator to have a look-see at Everett. Both Hard Rock International and Neil Bluhm‘s Rush Street Gaming kicked the tires but their hesitancy 
to commit has put Wynn at the front of the queue. Having already pulled out of Springfield (followed, quite acrimoniously, by Ameristar Casinos), where local support appears solid, Hard Rock claimed to be “serious” about Everett but evidently hasn’t quite been serious enough. Bluhm has gone off it altogether. Hard Rock dickered with Holyoke, out in western Massachusetts, but even though Mayor Alex Morse did a 90-degree turn on the issue, Hard Rock is no longer in the running (Seminole Gaming CEO Jim Allen reiterated that position to me last week). Instead, Morse will have to put his chips on amusement park owner Eric Suher. (I know: “Who?!?!?“)
While Wynn, Caesars, et al slug it out, New Hampshire might finally steal a march on the Bay State. One of gaming-related subplots that I overlooked during election season was that 
the endlessly vacillating John Lynch (D) would finally be out of the governor’s mansion, clearing the way for a pro-racino successor. Recent convert Ovide Lamontagne (R) lost to longtime gambling supporter Maggie Hassan (D, right) but Salem racetrack Rockingham Park was the clear winner, as it’s the frontrunner for casino status, especially with Cannery Casino Resorts owners Bill Wortman and Bill Paulos vowing to invest $450 million. Hassan only wants one gambling hall in the state but lawmakers may have other ideas. They’ve got at least two years to beat Massachusetts to the punch but, had it not been for Lynch, they’d be in the game already.
It’s back to the bank for sorely troubled Revel, which needs another multi-million-dollar cash infusion to keep the lights burning. Perhaps the $2.4 billion megaresort should get a mulligan this time, due to unforeseen circumstances better known as Hurricane Sandy. More importantly, it looks there’s been some housecleaning, with top managerial personnel getting the sack and a new marketing director, Darlene Monzo, being imported from Parx Casino, near Philly — a place that certainly knows how to eat Atlantic City‘s lunch. Monzo’s challenge will be to reverse-engineer that formula to work for the Boardwalk. Although virtually everything that could have gone wrong with Revel has gone wrong, CEO Kevin DeSanctis (left) still has a job, which makes him the luckiest man in the industry.
