News INTERNATIONAL UPDATE
Out-foxed in Boston
Residents scupper Wynn Resort and Kraft Group plans to site a unique casino hotel resort in Foxborough, Massachusetts
Plans to bring a US$1bn resort-style casino to Foxborough have been shelved following decisive victories by two anti-casino candidates in last month’s town election.
The announcement by The Kraft Group and Wynn Resorts came a day after Foxboro voters elected two selectman candidates who opposed opening negotiations with developer Steve Wynn. The Las Vegas-based casino mogul had wanted to build the resort on land leased from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft across from the Gillette Stadium.
Four of the five selectmen will be opposed to a casino in the town, instead of three out of five. A selectman who supported considering the casino was unseated in the election. The state Legislature passed a law last year that legalised casino gambling in Massachusetts. Under it, a prospective casino developer must first negotiate with local officials in the municipality where the casino would be built.
The Kraft Group issued a statement saying the town’s citizens have spoken, via the results of the election: “As we originally committed, we have heard them and respect their collective voice.”
The proposal’s suspension bolsters a plan for a resort casino at the Suffolk Downs horse racing track in East Boston. That plan would have had to compete with the Foxborough proposal for the sole casino license that will be available in the Greater Boston/Central Massachusetts area. A rival casino project has also been proposed in Milford.
Chip Tuttle, Suffolk Downs’ chief operating officer, said the horse track operators’ approach to winning a casino license won’t change. He said the focus will be on working with local residents to make sure the proposal would provide jobs and bring road improvements and tourism growth. The Massachusetts’ casino law allows for three resort casinos and one slots parlour.
(Above) ROBERT KRAFT, still has
casino ambitions in Massachusetts.
(Top) The plans
drawn up by Wynn Resort would have
seen a unique log- cabin inspired
casino design for Foxborough.
The casino law in Massachusetts allows for three
resort casinos and one slots parlour. The three casino licenses will be
divvied up among three regions:
Greater Boston, Southeastern
Massachusetts and Western
Massachusetts. The law put
Foxborough and
the rest of Norfolk County in the
Greater Boston region.
June 2012 PAGE 23
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52