With Wynn suit dismissed, Revere’s incoming mayor doesn’t want to fight anymore
The city’s lawsuit to block the Everett casino was dismissed Thursday.
Revere Mayor-elect Brian Arrigo wants the city to turn the page on its casino aspirations and open discussions with Wynn Resorts, after a Suffolk Superior judge dismissed lawsuits from Revere and Boston that aimed to block Wynn’s planned gambling haven in Everett.
“Right now, given that the lawsuit’s been thrown out, would I go forward and appeal?’’ Arrigo said. “No. No.’’
The city backed Mohegan Sun’s effort to build a casino at the Suffolk Downs race track, just over the Revere-East Boston line. Mohegan Sun lost out to Wynn’s proposal in nearby Everett in the 2014 competition for Greater Boston’s only casino license. Current Revere Mayor Dan Rizzo’s administration sued the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to challenge the decision shortly after Wynn was awarded the license, but the suit was tossed on Thursday.
Arrigo said rather than pushing the case further, he wants to open discussions with Wynn when he takes office in January. He hopes to reach an agreement with the company for mitigation payments to the city, address the potential traffic effects of the casino, and ensure some percentage of Wynn jobs and vendor contracts go to Revere residents and businesses, he said. That squares with comments he made during the mayoral campaign that figuring out a post-Mohegan Sun plan was Revere’s biggest challenge. (Mohegan Sun, however, will keep fighting the decision.)
Under Rizzo, the city did not reach an agreement during the licensing process with Wynn to offset the casino impacts. Arrigo criticized Rizzo for that decision during the campaign, arguing Rizzo had banked too hard on Mohegan Sun. He said that as a city councilor he called for Rizzo to open communication with Wynn.
Whether Revere appeals Thursday’s decision is not currently in Arrigo’s control. Rizzo is still sitting as mayor and has not conceded his defeat, calling for a recount of November’s tight election. His office did not respond Friday to questions asking if it would appeal the dismissal of the suit.
But Arrigo said he is not interested in further litigation.
“Drawing this out any further and putting any more resources…may not be the best way to spend our time and energy,’’ Arrigo said.
Robert DeSalvio, the president of Wynn’s $1.7 billion Everett project, said in a statement Friday that the company looks “forward to establishing a positive working relationship with the new mayor and the city of Revere.’’ The company declined to say whether it was open to a mitigation agreement.
Boston’s lawsuit against the gaming commission to stymie the Wynn casino was also dismissed Thursday. Bonnie McGilpin, a spokeswoman for Mayor Marty Walsh, said the city “is currently reviewing the judge’s order and weighing options to appeal.’’
Walsh’s administration also filed a separate suit against Wynn to stop the casino in September, which remains in litigation. Meanwhile, Boston and Wynn officials have been meeting since earlier this year in an effort to reach an accord.
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