Steve Wynn has found an unlikely ally in his fight against a fifth gambling location in Massachusetts.
The president of MGM springfield is now up in arms over a ballot question that may pave the way for another slots parlor in Revere, according to The New England Public Radio.
Coming out against Ballot Question 1, MGM Springfield President Mike Mathis pointed out that the statewide ballot question that would authorize the slots parlor, known as Question 1, will run counter to the 2011 casino law that called for a single slots parlor in Massachusetts.
“We think the legislation set the ground rules and we think it needs to be respected,” said Mathis, whose comments came during a tour of the building site of MGM’s casino, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2018. “Geographically, that’s not as much a concern for us here is western Mass. But, you know, we think that’s it’s a really good piece of legislation and you shouldn’t tinker with it.”
MGM was the second casino operator to declare its opposition to an international developer’s campaign to open a second slots parlor in the Bay State. Last week, Wynn Resorts has cried foul over the construction of a slots parlor in Revere, which will circumvent the law.
“We came into Massachusetts understanding there would be three casinos and one slots parlor under state law, not three casinos and two slots parlors.” Wynn Resorts top executive Robert DeSalvo said.
In July, an international developer has successfully prevailed to get a referendum on the November ballot asking voters to demand a second slots parlor in Massachusetts. But it will take more than just the electorates’ votes for the Revere slots parlor to become a reality.
To win a license, the developer also has to persuade the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to rethink its carefully crafted limits on casino licenses, and he has to wring an agreement out of the city of Revere, whose mayor derides the plan as “a fly-by-night proposal.”
