Hotel and casino magnate Steve Wynn has had quite a time with his planned Everett casino on the Mystic waterfront. Wynn won the a bid over Mohegan Sun in a 3 to 1 vote in 2011. So what can you expect? We'll tell you everything you need to know.
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Title: Wynn Everett
Developer: Steve Wynn (pictured)
Where: On the Mystic River waterfront, off lower Broadway. It used to be the site of Monsanto Chemical Co. Now it’s contaminated land that has been cut off from public use for decades.
Cost: $1.2B to $1.75B
Height: 24 stories, 260 feet
Size: 2.1M SF (originally) on 33 acres. The addition of 100 rooms to the hotel may have increased the square footage.
Delivery: 2017
Specs
The casino (pictured) will have 629 rooms, with an average size of 700 SF. Rooms will feature city views, oversized marble baths, and workspaces. There will also be entertainment and retail space with restaurants, a grand sports bar, a five-star spa and 3,400 parking spots. The lobby will have two 2k SF atriums with moving flower sculptures of a carousel and a Ferris wheel, and a 2,000 pound Popeye sculpture by Jeff Koons. There will also be a Harborwalk with a picnic park, viewing decks, pedestrian and bike paths, waterfront dining and retail, and a four-season ferry and water taxi system.
Why Wynn?
Factors included better paying jobs and plans to clean up the contaminated site. (Pictured is the flower carousel that will sit in the casino.)
Benefits
The waterfront that's been blocked for decades will be open to the public.
Wynn proposed using 250,000 oysters to filter the water.
Over 4,000 well-paying jobs with benefits and training will be created.
More than 3,600 construction jobs.
Preference in hiring will be given to Everett residents.
$30M will go towards a community enhancement fund, $20M for real estate taxes.
$250k to Everett Citizens Foundation.
$50k annually for vouchers and gift certificates.
Projected $2.5M in hotel and restaurant tax revenue.
Millions for traffic and infrastructure improvement.
(Pictured is the Popeye sculpture that will sit in the Everett Casino.)
Opinions
Gaming Commissioner Chairman Stephen Crosby compared the resort to the Zakim Bridge.
Commissioner Enrique Zuniga referred to it as iconic.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh doesn't approve. The cities of Boston, Somerville and Revere have all sued the Gaming Commission for giving the bid to Wynn. Rival bidder Mohegan Sun has joined Revere in its lawsuit.
Wynn has made it clear he has no plans of giving up on the casino.
(Pictured is the proposed panoramic suite for Everett Casino.)
Other licenses awarded in the Boston area since gambling casinos have been allowed include a Springfield MGM casino and a Penn National Gaming slot parlor in Plainville. (Pictured is the Wynn Sportsbar.)
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