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Wynn Unveils Rendering, Details For Proposed Everett Casino

Artist's rendering of the proposed Wynn Harbor Park in Everett (Wynn Resorts Holdings)
Artist's rendering of the proposed Wynn Harbor Park in Everett (Wynn Resorts Holdings)

Las Vegas gambling magnate Steve Wynn's firm on Wednesday unveiled a rendering of a $1.2 billion riverfront casino proposal for the city of Everett that will compete with two others for the sole eastern Massachusetts resort-style casino license.

The rendering envisions a 19-story hotel and casino with a glass facade rising on the banks of the Mystic River, connected to what appear to be restaurants and retail stores along a riverwalk on either side of the main building.

A map view of the proposed casino development site (Courtesy Everett mayor's office)
A map view of the proposed casino development site (in blue) (Courtesy Everett mayor's office)

The proposed casino, Wynn Everett, would sit on 37 acres of land at the site of a former Monsanto Chemical Co. plant.

On the development’s website, Wynn Resorts Holdings says that the Everett resort would create more than 4,000 permanent jobs and 3,700 construction jobs. It adds that “preferential hiring will be offered to residents of Everett and their immediate families.”

Wynn, whose prominent Las Vegas properties include the Bellagio and The Mirage, had earlier sought to develop a casino in Foxborough on land owned by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. He abandoned those plans last May after it became clear public opinion in the town was sharply divided over the casino and selectmen declined to enter into negotiations.

The design for the Everett casino is far different from the earlier Foxborough plan, which called for a six-story building resembling a large rustic lodge.

The proposed 2.1 million-square-foot riverfront tower along the Mystic would have 550 hotel rooms, along with entertainment and retail space.

The Suffolk Downs thoroughbred racetrack in East Boston and a group that hopes to build a casino in the town of Milford, about 30 miles west of Boston, are also competing for the same license, one of three regional resort casinos allowed under the state's 2011 expanded gambling law.

Suffolk Downs and its partner, Caesars Entertainment, unveiled a rendering of its proposed resort last summer. On Wednesday, it released a new three-dimensional model and updated renderings and scheduled three public meetings next month to answer questions from local residents.

According to Chip Tuttle, chief operating officer of Suffolk Downs, the new model offers more details of what the development would look like and plans for addressing traffic in the congested neighborhood near Logan International Airport.

Would-be casino developers must negotiate a host community agreement with the city or town where they plan to build and have that deal approved by local voters before it can be considered by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which will make the final decision on the awarding of casino licenses.

With reporting by The Associated Press and the WBUR Newsroom

This article was originally published on March 27, 2013.

This program aired on March 27, 2013. The audio for this program is not available.

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