Walsh Lashes Out at Gaming Commission as Decision on Boston-Area Casino Nears
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh remains none too pleased with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
Walsh’s administration sent a letter to the board Thursday, objecting to plans to award an Eastern Massachusetts casino in the coming days and accusing the commission of bias against the City of Boston. In so doing, the mayor’s office pointed to several examples of board rulings that have not gone Walsh’s way this year.
As one example, Walsh, who as a state representative was involved in the passage of the 2011 expanded gambling legislation, called the arbitration process for applicants to reach mitigation deals with surrounding communities unlawful. In his view, the process does not follow the legislation’s guidelines of reaching a negotiated settlement. The board’s arbitration process for surrounding community agreements calls for the arbitrator to choose between final offers from the two sides.
This isn’t the first time Walsh has criticized the arbitration process. Walsh chose to forego arbitration for a surrounding community agreement with Wynn Resorts, which intends to build a casino in Everett, as Wynn’s offer was seen as too low. Wynn had previously won arbitration settlements with Somerville and Chelsea, at terms neither city was particularly pleased with. Boston’s move to forfeit arbitration leaves the city at the board’s whim when it comes to deciding on mitigation payments should Wynn get the license—a possibility that could come true next week.
The blood between Walsh and the commission is bad. The two sides have squabbled throughout the year.
The mayor fought for Boston to receive host community status for both the Wynn proposal and Mohegan Sun’s Revere casino bid, which would have given Boston residents the opportunity to vote down either bid, and to demand host community benefits. That request was ultimately denied by the board.
Walsh later struck a lucrative surrounding community agreement with Mohegan Sun.
The same cannot be said for Wynn’s Everett plan. After the two sides failed to reach an agreement, Walsh decided to forego arbitration—a move that could have resulted in Boston getting nothing from Wynn.
Commissioner Gayle Cameron said earlier this week that the terms of the applicants’ surrounding community agreements did not much factor into how she judged their mitigation efforts.
Conditions proposed by the board should Wynn receive the license call for the company to make some payments to the city, especially for traffic mitigation. But those payments would pale in comparison to the payments the city would receive from Mohegan Sun.
In interviews with The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald, Walsh pointed to comments Wednesday from Acting Commission Chair James McHugh saying there will not be a tie when the board votes between the two proposals. Walsh said that amounted to an admission that the board already knows how things are going to go. (The board had first said there would not be a tie months ago.)
Though he tells the Globe he doesn’t care who gets the award, Walsh’s objection to the board’s upcoming action feels more like an objection to a choice of Wynn than the prospect of a choice in general. The city has a lot more to gain if Mohegan Sun comes out on top, and this week’s deliberations have hinted at an advantage for Wynn. Asked by the Herald whether he thought the “deck was stacked’’ in favor of Wynn, Walsh reportedly said: “It appears that way.’’
The board is expected to make a decision on the Boston-area license next week, and a Wynn victory probably wouldn’t sit very well at City Hall, whose letter leaves open the possibility of legal action.
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