The
Massachusetts Gaming
Commission continues to investigate a commercial casino after
The
Wall Street Journal reported on numerous allegations of sexual misconduct
against developer
Steve Wynn, who trashed tribes as he sought approval for his project.
The commission discussed the allegations at a
public meeting in Boston on Wednesday. According to news reports, regulators are upset because Wynn's company did not disclose a $7.5 million sexual misconduct settlement during the licensing process for the
Wynn Boston Harbor.
“The people of Massachusetts have a right to know what the hell happened here,” said Stephen Crosby, the chairman of the panel, The Boston Globe reported.
The $2.4 billion casino is already under construction in Revere, a city near Boston. It's due for completion in 2019 but Wynn's company faces the loss of its license, according to The New York Times. Fines are also possible, the paper reported.
Wynn's
company won the license for the casino in the eastern region of the state
after he criticized the
Mohegan
Tribe, a rival bidder. He claimed that the tribe was going to
encourage
big spenders to gamble at its existing casino in neighboring Connecticut.
“What do you think they’re going to do when it comes time to move a big
customer, pay 25 percent to Massachusetts, or shovel them off to Mohegan Sun in
Connecticut where they pay nothing," Wynn told the Massachusetts Gaming
Commission, Bloomberg News reported in January 2014. He was referring to the
25 percent tax
rate imposed on commercial casinos in Massachusetts, glossing over the fact
that the tribe shares 25 percent of slot machine revenues under its Class III
gaming compact in Connecticut.
Wynn even
tried
to lower his tax rate, citing competition from the
Mashpee Wampanoag
Tribe. He said he shouldn't be forced to pay any more than the tribe, whose
compact includes revenue sharing rates between 15 percent and 21 percent.
“A Wampanoag casino in Taunton would be a mere 40 miles from our proposed
investment in Everett and a real alternative for our patrons,” Wynn's company
told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission stated, The Boston Herald reported in
January 2014. “All (resort casinos) should operate pursuant to the same economic
terms with the same tax applied to all operators of the same type of facility."
Wynn's argument failed to differentiate his project, authorized under
state law, from the tribe's. The
Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act bars states from taxing tribal process, although
tribes across the nation have entered into compacts to share a portion of their
revenues with states.
Wynn, whose net worth is reported to be $3.5 billion, has denied the
allegations against him. He resigned his position as finance chairman for
the
Republican
National Committee as GOP politicians distanced him, and his money, from
their campaigns.
Read More on the Story:
Misconduct Allegations Against Steve Wynn Put Big Casino Project at Risk
(The Wall Street Journal January 31, 2018)
Steve Wynn settlement was actively concealed from Massachusetts Gaming Commission, investigators say
(MassLive.Com January 31, 2018)
Stephen Wynn to Be Investigated by Massachusetts Casino Regulators
(The New York Times January 31, 2018)
Gaming panel will review whether Wynn is suitable to keep license
(The Boston Globe February 1, 2018)
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