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Boston's Suffolk Downs Unveils Casino Proposal

04:27
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Update at 11:45 a.m.: Suffolk Downs' owners have unveiled plans for a $1 billion resort-style casino at the horse-racing track.

The proposal for the 163-acre site includes 200,000 square feet of gaming space, including 200 table games and 4,000 to 5,000 slot machines; up to 10 restaurants; entertainment venues; a hotel; and the existing racetrack.

As Murphy detailed to us earlier (see below), Suffolk Downs officials say the casino proposal would create 2,500 construction jobs and 4,000 permanent jobs. They also say the casino would generate about $200 million in annual tax revenue.

Click the above slideshow for two additional renderings of The Resort at Suffolk Downs.

Update at 10:00 a.m.: A leading contender to win the state's only Greater Boston casino license plans to detail its proposal on Tuesday.

A resort-style casino at Suffolk Downs in East Boston would include hundreds of gaming tables, more than 2,000 slot machines and a 300-room hotel, according to Boston City Council President Stephen Murphy, who received a sneak peek of the plan.

Murphy told WBUR that he's "pleasantly surprised" by the proposal for the 77-year-old horse-racing track.

"I always envisioned something that was maybe overbuilt going on the site," Murphy told Morning Edition host Bob Oakes in an interview. "What I saw was something that was much more to common scale, a lot more green space than I had envisioned."

He also spoke highly of the plan's touted economic benefits.

"Twenty-five hundred construction jobs and 4,000 permanent jobs when they're all said and done," Murphy said. "It would be a great shot in the arm economically for the City of Boston and for the region."

Murphy said Suffolk Downs' owners are also prepared to spend as much as $40 million on road and infrastructure improvements by the site, which borders East Boston and Revere.

Suffolk Downs and its partner, Las Vegas' Caesars Entertainment, plan to negotiate host community agreements with both communities that would have to be approved by voters.

A Milford developer has also said he plans to apply for the Boston-area casino license.

Earlier Coverage:

Headshot of Benjamin Swasey

Benjamin Swasey Digital Manager
Ben is WBUR's digital news manager.

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