Suffolk Downs Makes Its Pitch For A Casino

Owners of the Suffolk Downs horse track say investors are prepared to sink $600 million or more in a proposed resort-style casino at the East Boston facility.

The casino would include as many as 5,000 slot machines, more than 200 table games, restaurants and shops in a renovated grandstand at Suffolk Downs. The project would eventually include a hotel of 400 to 600 rooms, a spa, fitness facility and more restaurants and shops in an adjacent building.

Suffolk Downs would be one of several competitors for casino licenses that lawmakers are expected to approve. It could be well-positioned because it is in the district of House Speaker Robert DeLeo, a strong backer of expanded gambling.

Though it's early in the process, Suffolk Downs' chief operating officer, Chip Tuttle, believes his facility is a strong candidate for a license.

"We've been in this business for 75 years," Tuttle said. "Lots of other states have done this; 38 other states have authorized some form of casino gambling and 14 of those states have done it specifically at their racetracks."

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