The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has awarded the Boston-area casino license to Wynn Resorts, which plans to build a casino resort in Everett.
The commissioners voted 3-1 to award the license to casino mogul Steve Wynn.
Revere Mayor Daniel Rizzo said he didn't anticipate challenging the decision in court.
"The gaming commission made their decision," he said. "We've been through the process. We've been at this for close to three years now. So I don't anticipate any real legal action to challenge that decision."
Rizzo said the Mohegan Sun proposal could have broken ground right away, without the delays brought by environmental cleanup and other factors that Everett's proposal faces.
"They decided in this case to go risky vs. safe," Rizzo said. "I hope for the sake of the commonwealth and for all those jobs we're going to be losing sometime tomorrow, that that choice bodes well for everybody."
The decision means Suffolk Downs, in neighboring Revere, will not get a casino built by Mohegan Sun. Suffolk Downs said CEO Chip Tuttle did not answer when asked if the track's ownership would contest the decision.
"Since 2006 our owners have been extremely generous in investing in keeping racing going and preserving those jobs while we awaited the outcome of this decision," Tuttle told reporters after the decision. "It is just impossible for them to continue to do that, especially given the economics of racing without gaming. And then, you know, it's a very attractive development property. It's 160 acres, minutes from downtown, minutes from the airport. So we're going to meet with our employees and the horsemen over the next couple of days and look at how we wind down operations in an orderly way."
MassLive reporter Garrett Quinn spoke to Emily Rooney about the vote on Greater Boston:
