Dec. 31–Mohegan Sun on Tuesday submitted its site application for a $1.3 billion resort casino on the grounds of Suffolk Downs racetrack in Revere, Mass.
The application has new details of the plan, including the total value of $1.3 billion, which is more than the $1 billion casino Mohegan Sun proposed for Palmer, Mass., before that plan was struck down by town voters on Nov. 5. The boosted sticker price matches that of a competing proposal by Las Vegas casino titan Steve Wynn in nearby Everett, Mass.
Mohegan Sun’s proposed resort-style casino in Revere would feature 170,000 square feet of floor space and 5,000 “gaming positions,” which are places where people can sit or stand and gamble on slot machines, blackjack, roulette or other games.
The casino proposal includes 4,000 slot machines; 100 table games such as blackjack, baccarat, roulette and craps; and 20 poker tables. It would also feature a primary casino hotel and a boutique hotel with a combined 500 rooms. On-site retail, called The Shops at Mohegan Sun Massachusetts, would include casual and fine dining and entertainment to be created by New England Development and Finard Properties of Boston.
“We know the New England market better than any other gaming operator. It’s our home,” Mitchell Etess, CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, said in a prepared statement. “And we know the team we’ve assembled with New England Development and Finard will create memorable shopping, dining and entertainment experiences that will complement our gaming and hotel facilities and draw visitors to Revere and this region.”
The project also calls for a 10,000-square-foot spa; a 950-seat ballroom; a 5,000-square-foot greenhouse; and 38,000 square feet of meeting space. Mohegan Sun plans to build it to LEED Gold building standards for environmentally friendly design and the project will involve 2,500 construction jobs and 4,000 permanent jobs.
All three casino companies met Tuesday’s deadline for filing site plans to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. MGM Resorts International submitted more than 7,000 pages on Monday. Not to outdone, Mohegan Sun’s application is 16,034 pages.
The Mohegan Sun project is expected to produce $1.64 billion in municipal and state tax revenues for Massachusetts in the first five years of operation.
The Gaming Commission will issue only one license to operate a resort casino in Greater Boston, and it expects to do so in May. Separately, MGM is the only casino operator vying for the license to operate in Western Massachusetts with its plan for downtown Springfield. That decision, too, is expected in May.
A third casino license for the southeastern part of the state is on a different timeline, about six months behind the other two regions.
