Casino operator Mohegan Sun has joined the city of Revere in its lawsuit against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC). The suit, which was filed in October, accuses the MGC of giving preferential treatment to Wynn Resorts, which beat out Mohegan Sun for the lone Boston-area casino license in September.
The Connecticut-based Mohegan Sun’s filing claims the company has been “substantially harmed” by the MGC’s “numerous violations of its statutory obligations and its arbitrary and capricious actions” during the application vetting process. In reaching its decision, the MGC cited the higher number of jobs Wynn’s $1.6b proposal would create, as well as the higher percentage of revenue Wynn planned to draw from out of state gamblers than that envisioned by Mohegan Sun’s proposal in Revere.
Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority CEO Mitchell Etess told the Associated Press that the company had never previously launched a legal action protesting the awarding of a casino license but the company felt it was “really not treated fairly” during the “gravely flawed” approval process.
The lawsuit alleges that Wynn was given preferential treatment by the MGC, which allowed Wynn to revise and resubmit significant portions of its proposal, an advantage denied to Mohegan Sun. The suit also claims that the MGC let Wynn’s application slide on a dozen legally required conditions, including neighboring community obligations.
Those community obligations were a constant complaint of Boston mayor Martin Walsh, who felt Wynn was offering his city far less than Mohegan Sun had offered to offset the effect the new casino would have on regional traffic. Boston filed its own lawsuit against the MGC earlier this month and has refused to accept a $1m payment from Wynn.
STEVE WYNN’S PAY PACKET SHRINKS … OR DOES IT?
Speaking of Wynn checks, the company recently revealed it had cut the annual salary of CEO Steve Wynn (pictured). A Securities and Exchange Commission filing revealed that Steve’s pay packet had been reduced from $4m to $2.5m. Wynn spokesman Michael Weaver said the company was making “significant changes” to its executive compensation in a bid to put a more definite link between pay and company performance.
Steve’s total compensation will now include a “performance-based equity component” that “places a greater proportion of his overall compensation attributable to components that drive stockholder value versus fixed base salary.” Steve will also have to pay to use Wynn’s corporate jet for personal reasons, although he’s been granted a $250k annual credit to offset these charges.
Wynn also opted to extend Steve’s current contract by another two years, potentially setting him up for retirement on Oct. 22, 2022, by which time Steve will be 80 years old. Retirement might be an option, but we suspect they’ll have to pry Steve’s board seat from his cold dead hands.
