Even if you win you lose.
"Everett casino land owners indicted on US, state fraud charges" by Andrea Estes and Milton J. Valencia | Globe staff October 02, 2014
State and federal indictments were made public Thursday against three owners of the land in Everett where Steve Wynn plans to build a resort casino, alleging that the men defrauded Wynn and lied to state regulators by hiding the fact that convicted felon and known Mafia associate Charles Lightbody was one of the partners.
According to the 13-page federal indictment, Lightbody and two other defendants went to elaborate lengths to cover up Lightbody’s interest in the land, fearing that if his presence were known, it would jeopardize Wynn’s chances of getting the sole Eastern Massachusetts casino license.
The state’s gambling law bars criminals from profiting from a gambling facility.
The indictments will have no immediate effect on Wynn’s $1.6 billion proposal, which was approved Sept. 17 by the state’s gambling commission. However, the indictments provide new fodder for casino opponents pushing for repeal of the gambling law on the November ballot....
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Really rolled him up, didn't they?
Related:
Land owner pleads not guilty to fraud charges tied to casino land
Indictments over Everett site give voters much to ponder
Wynn stresses ‘wow’ factor during speech in Vegas
Wynn Resorts joins campaign against casino repeal
Looks like a Wynner to me.
Also see:
Suffolk Downs formally seeks review of gaming panel decision
Horse farms fear they will close if racing ends in Mass.
Brockton Fair owner applies to offer horse racing in ‘15
Group seeks to bring racing back to Suffolk Downs in 2015
"Deep discount lures buyer for Revel casino" by Wayne Parry | Associated Press October 02, 2014
ATLANTIC CITY — As one Atlantic City casino after another shut down and left thousands of workers jobless, Mayor Don Guardian insisted the meltdown that claimed four of his city’s 12 casinos since January was actually the opportunity of a lifetime for savvy investors. On Wednesday, someone agreed.
A Canadian asset-management company won a US Bankruptcy Court auction for the failed Revel casino hotel and announced plans to reopen it. Toronto-based Brookfield US Holdings LLC will pay $110 million to buy the 2-year-old casino, which cost $2.4 billion to build.
‘‘These are the first people that realized what I’ve been saying about Atlantic City turning the corner and being a great investment due to the low prices,’’ Guardian said Wednesday, hours after the successful bid was announced. ‘‘We’ve had a lot of bad news. This is certainly some good news.’’
But the good news was tempered by concern about the would-be buyer’s financial situation in Las Vegas, where it owns the Hard Rock casino. Brookfield told regulators in August that it was unable to make an interest payment due that month and was trying to work matters out with lenders, who could demand immediate repayment of nearly $1 billion in debt.
A Brookfield spokesman, Andrew Willis, said negotiations underway for the Hard Rock property will not affect completion of the Revel purchase, which needs to be approved by a bankruptcy judge Oct. 7. Brookfield also owns the Atlantis Paradise Island casino in the Bahamas.
At an auction that began Tuesday morning and lasted until early Wednesday, an opposing bidder, Florida developer Glenn Straub, was selected as backup bidder in case Brookfield does not close on the deal.
‘‘Revel is a brand-new trophy asset on the beachfront, which we are acquiring at a substantial discount to replacement cost,’’ Willis said. ‘‘We are excited about owning the newest and highest-quality asset in Atlantic City at such an attractive basis.’’
Willis said the company was not ready to reveal specific business plans for the Revel — or even to say whether it will still be called Revel — but confirmed the plan to operate it as a casino-hotel. He could not estimate when the property might reopen.
The would-be owners got an early vote of confidence from the casino workers union, which had fought the nonunion Revel even before it opened.
Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54 of Unite-HERE, said, ‘‘We look forward to sitting down with Brookfield and working out a positive relationship for the workers who were displaced by its closing.’’
Revel closed Sept. 2 after just over two years of operation, one of four Atlantic City casinos to go out of business this year, ending the jobs of 8,000 workers so far. A fifth, the Trump Taj Mahal, may close Nov. 13.
The attorney for Straub said the developer has not decided whether to challenge the auction’s outcome.
‘‘We have to decide whether we’re going to fight it in court, whether to try to top [Brookfield’s bid], or something else,’’ Stuart Moskovitz said. ‘‘We have to come up with a plan before Tuesday.’’
Straub, a polo aficionado, had spoken of a reopened Revel as a ‘‘genius academy’’ at which highly intelligent people would tackle the world’s biggest problems.
He said the property may or may not have had a casino.
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Related: No Longer Reveling in Atlantic City
Not really of primary concern now, is it?
Also see: Newport, R.I., wrestles with casino expansion plan
NEXT DAY UPDATE: Suffolk Downs asks regulators to reevaluate casino choice
