Wynn Resorts (WYNN 1.38%) is taking another swing at the Boston gaming market, proposing a $1.5 billion resort in Everett, Mass. The lot is an old Monsanto Chemical site on the river just north of downtown Boston. What we know right now is that the resort would be called Wynn Everett, it would have about 550 hotel rooms, water taxis to the airport and downtown, and according to Steve Wynn it will be family-friendly.
This isn't the first attempt at gaming in greater Boston for Steve Wynn. A plan to build near Foxboro Stadium was shot down by residents and he had to quickly regroup to submit an application for this new resort by the Jan. 15 deadline.
The other big competing bid is coming from Suffolk Downs and Caesars Entertainment (CZR). The group wants to build a casino at Suffolk Downs in East Boston, a similar distance to downtown as Wynn's proposal. Like Wynn, this is partly a revitalization project to bring more traffic and excitement to Suffolk Downs.
A third bid for Boston gaming will come from the owners of Foxwoods Resort & Casino and David Nunes. The project would be located in Milford, but little else is known publicly at this point.
A big market waiting to be tapped?
The expansion of gaming in the U.S. has piqued the attention of Las Vegas' normal residents. Las Vegas Sands (LVS -1.18%) built a casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that has helped drive the state into the No. 2 position nationally, making a tidy profit in the process. Boston may be even more lucrative the proposed sites so close to the city.
The state gambling commission isn't expected to award the casino license until February, so it'll be a long wait for those who applied. For Wynn, the resort would be an incremental positive, but the big prize is in Macau. At Caesars, this would be a highlight in the company's expansive non-Las Vegas properties, but I'm not sure how the company will fund another billion-dollar project with its current debt load.
