Thanks to the fine people of Revere, Massachusetts, Mohegan Sun‘s casino proposal lives to fight another day.
Revere residents overwhelmingly voted to support the casino operator’s $1.3 billion gambling resort proposal at Suffolk Downs with 63 percent of the city votes coming from those who were for the proposal to reach the next level of the state’s casino vetting process.
Like a cat with nine lives, Mohegan Sun’s quest to win one of those casino licenses in Massachusetts somehow still has some life to it after initially getting rebuffed by a different community – Palmer, Massachusetts – last November. In some ways, it’s also a second chance for Suffolk Downs, the thoroughbred racetrack who lost its own bid to win a license in the East Boston area last year.
So with residents of Revere voicing their support for this hastily prepared proposal, the next step to gaining that license now lies in the hands of the Massachusetts Gambling Commission, which will have the unenviable position of deciding between Mohegan Sun’s proposal in Revere and Wynn Resorts’ proposal in Everett, Massachusetts. The commission is expected to decide on the winner sometime in May or June, giving both companies ample enough time to prepare for one last push to ensure that its their name that’s called when its time to award those licenses.
For now, though, Mohegan Sun can rest easy and breathe a sigh of relief. It’s casino proposal in Revere is still alive, and given how much of a struggle it’s had just to come this far, it’s a victory the company will take any day of the week.
