Commissioner Brad Hill pointed to language in the casino-city agreement that directly addressed how the city's impact fee could increase if the casino expanded as a sign that "they expected that there would be some type of expansion in that area, not specific to the location that they are currently in." The other four commissioners said they were satisfied that city voters understood in 2013 that the reference to the former Monsanto site was essentially shorthand for a larger section of the lower Broadway neighborhood. And I don't think that what we're doing today is the end of the discussion, because I feel like this is going to continue to happen." "But more importantly, I still don't know where the outer boundaries of this are. What I am not satisfied with is any request that we say, 'you can expand, but I still can't tell you where the end of the expansion can go.' I am not comfortable with the 'I know it when I see it' response," O'Brien said. "I'm not opining on the appropriateness of the proposed expansion, what it would do I think the plans for revitalization are fantastic for that area. Commissioner Eileen O'Brien was the dissenter, telling other regulators that she viewed the 2013 approval as "site specific" and that she is uncomfortable with the fact that no one was able to clearly define for her the boundaries of the location that was approved in 2013. The commission voted 4-1 to decide that the expansion was contemplated in the language of the 2013 referendum and the host community agreement between the casino and city. The state's gaming law prescribed the referendum language and required that it include a description of the proposed location, but it does not at all address expansion of gaming establishments. The precise question before Everett voters in 2013 was, "Shall the City of Everett permit the operation of a gaming establishment licensed by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to be located at the property located on Horizon Way (off 'Lower Broadway') in Everett, formerly known as the Monsanto Chemical Site?" With the decision Wednesday, the full project can now be reviewed in greater detail by the Gaming Commission and other city and state officials. The Gaming Commission ruled last March that a previous version of Wynn's development proposal - one that did not include poker or sports betting - would not be part of the casino's official gaming establishment and therefore would not fall under commission jurisdiction or oversight, the outcome that Encore had lobbied for.īut once sports betting was legalized in Massachusetts last summer, the casino company changed its plans and now wants its "east of Broadway" expansion to include both casino gaming (poker) and sports betting, either of which would require the facility to be considered part of the official gaming establishment and regulated by the commission. The casino can move ahead with some version of its planned development either way, but it can only offer sports betting and poker there with the commission's agreement that such an expansion was something the 2013 voters understood they were voting on. The question the regulators had to answer Wednesday was whether the language of the Jreferendum that cleared the way for the casino to be located in Everett authorized casino gaming at just the location specified on the ballot or whether voters approved of a casino license generally - Wynn at the time was looking from a green light from voters before it could secure a license. It would be connected to the casino that opened in 2019 by a pedestrian bridge. State gaming regulators decided Wednesday to interpret the 2013 casino referendum in Everett to have authorized gaming on not just the current site of Encore Boston Harbor but also at least one other swath of land across the street, clearing the way for the resort-style casino's expansion to move ahead.Įncore parent company Wynn Resorts plans to construct a new building across Broadway from its resort casino to host a dedicated poker room, a second sports betting parlor, a relocated nightclub, a theater, parking garage and more. Regulators clear way for Encore Boston Harbor to expand 00:24īy Colin A.
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