Wynn Resorts' CEO Matthew Maddox said the gaming company might delay the opening of its Encore Boston Harbor by a few weeks to make sure the casino is “flawless.” He left out the part about weighing a sale of the $2.6B resort to a rival company.
Encore Boston Harbor is 37 days away from its planned June 23 opening, but Wynn is in early talks to sell the nearly complete resort to MGM Resorts International, the Boston Globe reports.
The deal would require MGM to relinquish its casino license in Springfield — the Massachusetts Gaming Commission only allows a company to hold one Massachusetts casino license. MGM opened the $960M MGM Springfield casino resort in August 2018.
“Over the past several weeks, we have engaged in conversations around the potential sale of Encore Boston Harbor,” Wynn Resorts and MGM said in a joint statement to the Globe. “They are very preliminary and of the nature that publicly traded corporations like ours often engage in, and in fact when opportunities such as this are presented, we are required to explore. We cannot say today where these conversations will lead, however we can reaffirm our commitment to the communities where we operate today.”
Wynn Resorts was previously rumored to be exploring a sale of the 3.1M SF Everett casino last year amid investigations into the company following the bombshell report of founder and ex-CEO Steve Wynn’s alleged decades of sexual misconduct.
The Massachusetts investigation concluded with the MGC fining Wynn Resorts $30M, and fining Maddox $500K, earlier this month over the handling of the Steve Wynn allegations. While the company still has the option to appeal the decision, Wynn Resorts issued a statement after the decision and said it was committed to the successful launch of Encore Boston Harbor.
“The people of Springfield and Everett welcomed us into their neighborhoods. We know that is a privilege and we take it seriously. Our conversations will not impact the jobs at our facilities and will not impact the opening of Encore Boston Harbor,” Wynn Resorts and MGM said in their Friday statement to the Globe. “Regardless of where this leads us, we will ensure that our commitments will be met, and that those who welcomed us into their communities will not be disappointed.”
