Wynn Resorts couldn’t even go a week without somehow stumbling into another bad news story. Just days after the Encore Boston Harbor had its successful grand opening, The Boston Herald reports the operator is in a dispute with its subcontractors.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) is monitoring discussions between the casino and several subcontractors under the Suffolk Construction umbrella. Catherine Blue, general counsel for the MGC, said the regulator will:
“Continue to monitor the progress of discussions between Encore Boston Harbor and Suffolk Construction regarding any unpaid subcontractors and I will bring any concerns raised to Encore Boston Harbor for their review.”
Coghlin Electrical Contractors claims that Encore owes them $30 million in work that went beyond the scope of their original agreement. Sue Mailman, owner of the company, noted, “We were told specifically to do the work we were assigned and then ordered to do extra work. A lot of that piled up at the end and we have not been paid for a lot of the changes that happened.”
Mailman revealed that Encore has offered them 60% of the amount, which she feels is totally unfair. “I’m not Wynn Resorts, worth billions and billions of dollars,” she pointed out. “They’ve opened their doors and we’re not going to be paid for the work we did.”
Her company isn’t the only one left holding the bag. Michael McDonagh of the Associated Subcontractors of Massachusetts notes that many more members are seeking payment, and accused Wynn of abusing the change orders process to get extra work done on their project.
Wynn denies the accusations, and insists that it’s paid its bills. Their statement read:
“Subcontractors work directly with the contractor, not Encore Boston Harbor. Encore Boston Harbor has no outstanding invoices with Suffolk Construction. The relationship between Wynn Resorts and Suffolk has always been cordial and professional.”
Suffolk, now being caught in the middle, just wants to find a happy ending for everyone, noting that it will continue to work with subcontractors to resolve issues. What’s clear is for everyone to be happy, someone is going to have to cough up millions of dollars.
