Residents of Massachusetts will reportedly lose $660 million annually if the delay to Wynn Resort’s casino plans for Everett continues.
State media outlets reported that the casino operator warned the state of a “dark cloud” that Somerville’s appeal of its environmental permit would bring. In a press release, Wynn Resorts said the figure includes some $242 million the casino would pay in annual taxes and fees, as well as the $170 million in payroll and the $248 million for casino operations.
In addition, “the delay will reportedly put 4,000 union construction jobs, 4,000 permanent jobs and $30 million cleanup of the former Monsanto chemical factory at risk,” Patch.com reported.
Last week, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone filed an administrative appeal that questions the environmental permit that Wynn Everett received from the Department of Environmental Protection in January of this year. Curtatone believes the casino project will seriously affect “the health of city residents as an estimated 18,000 people per day are expected to drive to the casino.”
Somerville’s last-minute challenge will go through an appeal process, which could take between six months to a year to be completed and will effectively put Wynn’s license “on hold” until the issue is decided.
“It’s hard to comprehend how anyone can be against thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue that would benefit the entire Commonwealth,” Wynn Everett President Robert DeSalvio said in a statement.
But Somerville refused to budge. In a statement, Curtatone said the city will fight for its right to seek a review on the casino’s repercussions to the “quality of life.”
“It appears that Wynn did not plan for the entire process and all of its possibilities and it’s also clear that they simply can’t argue our right to appeal based on the law. So the public needs to pay close attention to what Wynn does in the coming weeks. They are going to get personal. They are going to get political. And we suspect they are going to get vicious,” Curtatone said, according to the Boston Herald.
