Wynn Boston Harbor, the latest addition to Wynn Resorts’ wealthy portfolio of luxury modern hotel and casino properties, is slated to open doors on June 3, 2019. Spreading over 3.3 million square feet along the Mystic River in Everett, the $2.1-billion casino resort will be the second one of this type to function in Massachusetts.
Rival casino operator MGM Resorts International is currently building a $950-million complex in Springfield. After multiple delays, the venue was eventually set for a 2018 launch.
It was announced on Wednesday that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission approved the final design for Wynn Resorts’ Everett property and the proposed opening date. Wynn Design & Development, the gambling operator’s development branch, had put final touches to the hotel and casino resort, mainly to its interior. These were welcomed by state gambling commissioners overwhelmingly and unanimously at their Wednesday meeting.
Valued at $2.1 billion, Wynn Boston Harbor will feature a 24-story hotel building, curved and shaped to resemble the casino operator’s emblematic Wynn Las Vegas and Encore properties, a casino, numerous food and beverage, entertainment, and retail options, and a harborwalk along the Mystic River’s bank. Wynn Resorts has previously said that construction will create around 4,000 temporary jobs. Once the property is completed and operational, it will employ 4,000 people permanently.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission chose Wynn Resorts as the preferred casino developer for the Greater Boston area over the likes of Suffolk Downs and Mohegan Sun. The major casino company received its license late in 2014 but has not been able to proceed with construction since then as it has been involved in multiple legal cases, filed to oppose its Everett project.
Neighboring cities of Boston and Somerville have argued that the construction of the massive gambling resort would bring more harm to surrounding communities than benefits. Concerns over traffic and increased crime were cited by officials of both cities as some of the main reasons why Wynn Boston Harbor should have been prevented from being materialized. Their disapproval has even left the court premises and has turned into an endless, widely publicized war of words between them and Wynn Resorts officials.
Apart from the requirements stipulated as part of the operator’s license agreement with the state, it has also agreed to pay certain amounts of money not only to Everett as a host city but also to surrounding cities so as to appease opponents of the project and to prove that residents’ well-being will be a top priority.
