The Wynn’s Controversial Casino Plan

Steven Wynn, who is the Chairman of Wynn Resorts, has allied with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft in his vision for the aforementioned casino proposal. The specifics of the plan call for Kraft to lease Wynn some land that’s 200 yards from Gillette Stadium. Wynn would then build a $1 billion casino resort, and operate the establishment once it’s up and running.

As you may have guessed from the $1 billion price tag, this new Wynn venture is set to be extravagant – but not Las Vegas extravagant. Instead, the casino mogul wants his new establishment to look like it belongs in a rural setting as he said, “Picture if you will, a lobby that you walk into with materials that you would expect to find in rural Massachusetts, but tastefully arranged so it looks out on a pool, tennis courts, or a garden.”

In regards to the layout of the casino, there is going to be a large gaming floor, hotel, convention center and restaurants. Proposed restaurant themes include Japanese, Chinese, Italian and a steakhouse, while there will also be a long corridor near the restaurants that features a number of shops. Basically, this casino figures to be just as impressive as any other Wynn Resorts property, but with a slightly different touch. Unfortunately, there are plenty of hurdles in the way of this vision becoming a reality.

One of the biggest roadblocks standing in the way of Wynn Resorts’ potential casino is the conservative Foxborough, Massachusetts community. Situated 20 minutes from Boston, many of the town’s 16,000 residents don’t mind being this far away from the big city. Furthermore, they don’t like the idea of bringing in a resort-style casino that would cause potential traffic problems and other issues.

In addition to this, there are concerns that the NFL would have a problem with a casino located so closely to the New England Patriots’ home stadium. The NFL is the world’s largest American football league, and they’re very conventional when it comes to how their teams and owners operate; having a casino 200 yards away from a stadium doesn’t fall into this view.

Lastly, the Mashpee Wampanoag Indian tribe is also looking for casino land in the same area, which poses a roundabout threat to Wynn’s plan. The reason why is because both Foxborough and Massachusetts state officials are less likely to approve more than one huge casino plan within 10-15 minutes of each other. And the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe could have an inside track with the government.

While there may be some big opponents of Wynn Resorts’ casino, there are some definite positives too. First off, early estimates suggest that such a casino would generate over $10 million in tax revenue every year. This alone could be the driving force towards the plan being accepted. Along with this, the casino would bring in more out-of-towners to Foxborough during the NFL offseason. And more visitors would certainly help out the local economy and businesses.

But is increased tourism and tax revenue enough to open the gates for a new Wynn resort? It’s difficult to say, and there is sure to be plenty more debate involved in the matter.