It may be time for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to make up its mind about the suitability of Wynn Resorts to open a casino in Everett because the uncertainty is starting to take a toll.
Wynn CEO Matt Maddox hosted a conference call with financial analysts on Tuesday after the release of the company’s first quarter earnings report. Maddox didn’t mention the firm’s Massachusetts situation in his opening statement, but it was the first question from the analysts. They wanted to know what was going on.
Maddox said he still loves the Greater Boston market, but he issued an ominous warning. “If there was any risk due to heightened rhetoric that there could be any contagion from Massachusetts into our $30 billion company in Las Vegas and Macau, we will have to take a hard look at what’s best to protect our shareholders and our value,” he said.
The analysts also wanted to know if the rumors were true that the Gaming Commission would wrap up its investigation early this summer. “It’s in the summer,” Maddox said. “I wouldn’t want to speculate early or mid.”
On Wednesday, during a grilling on CNBC, Maddox struck a more upbeat tone on Massachusetts, discounting talk that he might sell the Everett casino. “Boston’s not up for sale,” he said.
At a time when Wynn Resorts is trying to put a lot of distance between the company and Steve Wynn (a Gaming Commission hearing on that issue is scheduled for Friday), Maddox indicated he still talks to his mentor on occasion. “I don’t really talk to him much anymore,” he said. “He has distanced himself from the company.”
Meanwhile, the unsettled status of the Everett casino is having reverberations in Springfield, where MGM is preparing to open its casino this summer. MGM says it is committed to Springfield, but there has been a lot of speculation that Wynn Resorts might sell its facility to MGM, which would require MGM to unload its casino to someone else.
Boston Globe columnist Thomas Farragher said the rumor mill in Springfield is spinning like a roulette wheel. And former Springfield mayor Michael Albano insisted in an op-ed in CommonWealth that MGM has no heart for the city.
“The Massachusetts Gaming Commission should deny any MGM request to sell the Springfield license and purchase Wynn Boston Harbor,” Albano wrote. “The Massachusetts legislation never intended for a bait and switch, or trade-up strategy by casino operators. Springfield, and western Massachusetts, should not be the sacrificial lamb for MGM.”