Mohegan Sun isn’t giving up on its bid to secure a casino license in Massachusetts. After it failed in its attempt to get public backing in the town of Palmer, the operator joined forces with another spurned company, Suffolk Downs, to build a casino in Revere, the town where the latter received some serious local support.
Recently, Mohegan – and Suffolk Downs – made huge progress in its casino license-hunting in the state when it signed a host community agreement with Revere last week. As part of its pitch, Mohegan Sun laid out an estimate that would see Revere earn at least $40 million in annual payments ($10 million more than initial forecasts), allowing to city to spend more on improving its public schools while also providing more funds for the city’s police and fire departments.
Anytime you throw figures like that around, you’re going to receive some attention, especially when you attach the phrase “at least” just before the monetary sum you’re targeting. So that’s good for Mohegan Sun, although how much of it will matter in the end is still up in the air. You know, sort of like this whole proposal for that matter.
Employment was also a big part Mohegan Sun’s proposal; the casino is promising at least 800 full-time employment opportunities for residents of Revere. And then there’s that “suggestion” the operator is throwing around to close an eastbound lane on I-90 in an attempt to alleviate the traffic impact in the area of its proposed casino in Revere.
Seems like an easy suggestion to make on paper, but one that’s far more difficult to implement considering that an average of 5,000 vehicles will pass through the approaching Ted Williams Tunnel on their way to the casino. Even one of the state’s “traffic experts”, Jeff Larson of the Massachusetts-based Safe Roads Alliance, expressed apprehension about the plan, saying that while it might alleviate congestion in one area, the whole “suggestion” still doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Given the determination by which the Mohegan Sun is chasing this casino license, it begs the question as to how far it will go to make an impression on state regulators. It’s got until February 25 to wow residents to vote in its favor during the scheduled ballot question. And if the company makes it out of the referendum with its proposal still intact, it still has to deal with competition coming from Steve Wynn, who himself is vying for that one casino license in Eastern Massachusetts.
Mohegan Sun has long odds, to say the least. But you can’t say its’ not fighting for its shot; that much has been made clear by the sheer fact that it’s still alive and kicking after all the setbacks it’s had in its bid to secure that Massachusetts casino license.
